Girl Like That
by Mrs. Witter
Summary: Rory and Tristan in the real world. If there is such a thing.
1. Chapter 1: Haven't seen you lately, but ...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

Chapter 1: Haven't seen you lately, but I know that nothing's changed.

"To the left," Rory Gilmore instructed her mother as she backed into the doorway, bending down to grasp the wooden trunk by its metal handles. She used her free hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. The trunk swerved a little to the right. "The other left, Mom! The other left!"

"Sweetie, calm down, I only have one left," Lorelai Gilmore replied. "I'm doing the best I can here. What'd you pack in this thing anyway, every single book in existence?"

She tugged at the trunk, getting over the threshold and then groaned as a muscle in her arm cramped. "I packed every single book I own."

"So yes, then," Lorelai said with a sigh as they stepped into the room. "This looks like a good place to put it."

Rory scanned the room, eyes wide. There were two twin beds on opposite sides of the room, a large bay window right across from where they were standing, and lighting up the entire room with sunshine. The window seats were wood paneled and looked as if someone had scrubbed them with lemon Pledge. "Wow."

"My exact response, as well," came a voice from behind them. Lorelai turned to see a petite girl walking into the room with strawberry blonde hair so light that it was nearly pink, and her face sprinkled with freckles. "I'd be Schuyler Vaughn Claymore, the roommate, by the way."

"Well that's quite a mouthful," Lorelai commented.

Rory shot her mother a look before giving the other girl a friendly smile and her hand to shake. "Hi! I'm Lorelai Leigh Gilmore. Rory actually. And the one with the glib tongue is my mom, Lorelai. Lorelai Victoria. Not Leigh." 

She shook it, "Okay, I think I got that. And you don't have to go around calling meVaughn Claymore, or even try to wrap your tongue around Schuyler. Vaughn is fine, and I don't have parents with me. So it's just...me."

"That's good," Rory replied and then looked at the beds trying to decide which side to put her stuff without offending the other girl. She looked at Vaughn and the raised an expectant eyebrow. "Have you picked a side, yet?"

"Oh no," Vaughn shook her head; her strawberry-blonde curls swaying with it. "Any side is fine."

Rory hated making these kinds of decisions. When people said that things were "fine" by them, how was she to know if they meant it or if they were being polite? What if she picked the left side and secretly Vaughn wanted that particular side and ended up hating her the whole year?She sighed and left it up to Fate. "I'll take the right."

"So then it's settled, Vaughn gets left, Rory gets right," Lorelai stepped in. "Now I'm going to go get the rest of Rory's stuff and leave you two to decide whether you are going to become best friends or absolutely hate each other." With a jaunty wave, she was off.

Rory smiled nervously at her new roommate and offered her the best reason she could muster without sounding like she was freak. "She had a lot of coffee this morning."

"I understand," Vaughn replied, stepping further into her room and dropping the duffel bag she had been carrying onto the left bed. "I get like that after too many Vanilla Chai's."

Rory smiled, deciding instantly that Vaughn was going to be fun to get to know. She walked over to her bed and dropped her backpack on it and turned around again, assessing her new room again and realizing that her trunk would fit nicely at the foot of her bed. "So where are you from?"

"New York City," Vaughn replied, sitting down onto her bare bed. It was too firm, but that could easily be fixed the next day. "Lately of Greenwich, though."

"Really? Wow, New York City." She thought of Jess. She knew it was foolish and girly but he was her only link to that place. Her only important memory of that city, of those people. She couldn't help it if her mind had already associated the Big Apple with her ex-boyfriend. It seemed associate everything with him, lately. 

"Well only until I was of age for boarding school," Vaughn shrugged. "So I didn't really get a chance to enjoy it as it should be. Though I was there long enough so I stopped gaping at the interior of the Trump tower."

Rory's interest was piqued. "Boarding school? Wow, that must have been hard to adjust to. I mean, being away from your family and everything."

"It's easier than one would think," Vaughn replied, and better too, depending on your family. "Almost like early college."

Rory nodded and crossed over to the window, looking out at the bustling activity below. It was hard to believe she was really here, standing in her dorm room at Yale. It had taken her a while to accept that she wasn't living the dream she had planned for herself since she was eight – the dream of attending Harvard. But lengthy talks with her grandparents and even lengthier fights with her mother had led her to this place, to this decision. Yale was where she had ended up and that really wasn't a bad place to land. She was a part of the Gilmore legacy, Richard had intoned. It felt…nice.

~*~ 

Freedom was elusive as ever to Tristan DuGrey. He thought he had freedom when he was able to leave Chilton and his life in Hartford, but then military school seemed to imprison him further. Upon graduation he believed that perhaps he could finally live his own life, not the life dictated by his parents. But no, here he was at Yale University, at the Ivy League school his parents had hand chosen for him upon birth. At least, he could comfort himself with the knowledge that he came up to New Haven alone, would go to his dorm alone and would unpack alone. No parental units within sight. It was the same knowledge that had comforted him all through the two years spent at military school.

He ran a hand through his blonde hair, that he had allowed growing a little long over the summer, perhaps enjoying the freedom of not having a buzz cut a little too much. But it curled beneath his ears, so it wasn't too long yet. Really, he would cut it before he started to look like a flat-chested Sharon Stone. With that thought, he readjusted the strap on his duffel bag and pushed open his dorm room. He found it mostly bare, except for the mountains of suitcases stacked up neatly beside a bed. His, obviously his stuff had been shipped down and left. Beside the other bed, there were suitcases thrown upon the bed. Clearly his roommate had brought his own luggage in.

"_Gonna let it rock, let it roll_," Cole Montgomery sang as he stepped out of the bathroom and back into his dorm room. He thought he had a pretty good voice. In fact, if the whole college experience wasn't for him he could definitely make a career as a pop star. Wouldn't that make the old man proud? "_Let the Bible Belt come down and save my soul. Hold on to 16 as long as you can changes come around real soon. Make us women and men!_"

Tristan snapped attention at the sudden noise. Really, too much time spent in a military setting could effect a person's reactions. He turned to see a tall, dark haired guy coming out of the bathroom. "They never told me my roommate was John Mellencamp, Jr."

Cole turned to the owner of the smug tone and found himself staring at a leaner, more tanned version of Ryan Phillippe. With really bad hair. _Must be from California_, Cole thought to himself with a sigh. "That's me – Yale's best kept secret." 

"That's because if they had told people about you, it would only set them up for disappointment," Tristan shook his head. "And that just wouldn't be good for Yale's reputation."

This guy was good with the comebacks. If nothing else, at least they could spar intelligibly, which was more than he could say about his previous roommate – his bratty sixteen-year-old sister, Veronica. A smirk made its way to Cole's lips. "Well they're obviously not too concerned with their reputation. It seems like they're letting anyone in these days." 

"I can tell," Tristan replied looking pointedly at Cole, before giving up the spar and stretching his hand out. "Tristan DuGrey."

"Cole Montgomery," he answered as they shook hands. "I took the liberty of choosing my side of the room. That is after I managed to get climb over those suitcases. Not a big fan of letting go, are you?" 

"Actually a huge fan of it," he answered, his eyes straying to his mountain of suitcases. "So are the people in my house apparently, I didn't pack."

"Ah," Cole stated and gave him a knowing half grin. Aloof families. Cold, blue blood. He understood that a little too well. He gestured towards the bed. "It may not be the king-sized bed you're used to but it's quite comfortable. And the bathroom is spotless – for now. No Jacuzzi in there yet but just give me time."

"Trust me, the bed is better than what I'm use to," hell, the floor was better than those rock hard cots they had at that school. "Any other luxuries that are here, or soon to be put in here that I should be aware of?"

"I'm trying to see if I can fit in a mini-bar but I'll get back to you on that one too," Cole answered as he started to rummage through his suitcases, looking for his wallet. Then he grinned at the other guy over his shoulder. "And a karaoke machine to hone my singing skills." 

"Mini-bar, yes. But regarding anything that'll hone your singing skills goes into the laundry room," Tristan warned him.

"DuGrey," Cole stated and then smiled triumphantly when he located his wallet. "You will learn to appreciate me and my singing talents. Hey you never know, one day I may even let you come on tour with me. You're a very lucky man."

"Well then I guess that's just all a matter of perception," Tristan gestured at Cole's wallet. "Going some where with that?"

"To get myself a strong cup of coffee," he answered as he stuffed the wallet into his pocket. "I let you settle in. Can I get you anything?"

Tristan shook his head, "No, I'm fine."

Cole nodded and stepped over Tristan's suitcases and headed for the door. "Have fun."

~*~ 

_John Mellencamp_, Cole thought with a derisive snort as he recalled his new roommates words. He was better than that pansy. He rounded the corner and headed down the street to the conveniently located _Starbucks_. At least now he didn't have to go hunting for a good café in between classes. The familiar aroma of coffee filled his senses and he stood for a minute at the entrance, relishing in it. Most people thought he was crazy but they did not understand his addiction, his obsession. Coffee was a Godsend. 

Vaughn leaned against the counter as she watched, well she didn't exactly know his name but had labeled him as "cute counter boy", make her latte. Coffee was on her top five list of the best things in the world. Right under Vanilla Chai and Chocolate, of course. She let her violet gaze draw away from cute counter boy, a good thing seeing as he had a wedding ring on, and to the patrons. For a Starbucks it was rather empty, but then again that may be just because she was use to the overcrowded ones of New York. She sighed, even though it was empty, it seemed as if it were taking cute counter boy forever.

Cole swaggered over to the counter, glad that the only person in line was a petite girl that was suddenly looking a little too familiar. His brows drew together as he took in her height and that particular shade of blonde that was so…unusual. Yet it stuck in his memory. He couldn't put his finger on it but this girl was rapidly becoming intriguing and he'd only seen her from behind. _And what a behind it is. _

_ _

Vaughn let her gaze drift over to the new addition to the counter. Tall, dark hair, not bad. Looked slightly familiar, but so did half the other people she saw in passing. She discreetly perused him before seeing his eyes. Something about those eyes...oh, hell. "Always knew I'd be able to spot a Montgomery anywhere." She said out loud, with a heavy sigh. Such an encounter was inevitable, if he was in New Haven that could mean only one thing, and why put something terrible off when it could be done with few witnesses?

When she'd first turned those violet eyes on him he'd been so shocked at seeing _her_ there that he could not form the words. That hair, those eyes. Schuyler. She spoke, that tone so oddly comforting that it was logical that everything in him reacted to it violently. He closed his eyes briefly (yes, he hoped she was a figment of his wild imagination) and then opened them again. "Shit."

"Well you got the first letter right, anyway," Vaughn told him as she accepted her (finally ready) latte and paid cute counter boy, who had suddenly lost his appeal. "But that's more than I would have expected from you."

"Schuyler Vaughn." He let the name roll off his tongue. It was a mouthful. It was…so her. Last time he'd seen her; she hadn't had quite that figure and could never fill a shirt to that…capacity. The eyes were still the same – vivid, so damn attractive. The hair was curly and looked soft. And that mouth. Still delectable. "I'll be damned."

"That's been certain for a long time, Cole," Vaughn replied, taking a sip of her latte. Mmm, heaven. Now that coffee was going through her blood, perhaps her mind would return to normal and Cole Montgomery wouldn't look quite so attractive. It was an unwritten law somewhere that said Montgomery's couldn't have abs, although it sure looked like Cole had some nice ones. Maybe she just needed another sip.

Damn. He hated how much better his name sounded coming from her. She rarely ever used his first name, he remembered. He shook his head and turned to the counter to place his order. When he turned, she was still there looking at him with those eyes of hers. "How long has it been, Claymore? Six years?" It seemed longer.

Hmmm…really? Vaughn couldn't really remember, seeing as she tried to block out memories of before boarding school from her mind. But still, she replied, "Yeah. Best six years of my life."

He reached out to take his up of coffee, running his tongue over his upper teeth to bite back a scathing remark and simply look amused. "From St. Helene's to Yale. You are going to Yale, aren't you?"

She wasn't looking at his tongue, really. "No, actually I thought I'd put my education to waste and spend my time boosting up New Haven's Community College's average GPA by attending there."

That quick tongue of hers; he'd forgotten how sharp it could be. And how annoying. "So are you all settled in? Make any friends? Although, you were pretty crappy at making any friends when we were younger."

"That's because you were always near by," Vaughn returned, sipping at her latte, it was going cold while she stood her exchanging insults with him. At least it was one more thing she could blame him for. "Once you were gone, I found myself with more friends than I'd ever imagine. What about you? Ever lose that imaginary one- what's his name- Mickey, and get real ones?"

He started to chuckle. "Schuyler Vaughn, it's amazing how you haven't changed."

She licked the foam off the edge of her cup. "And it's amazing how much like your father you've turned out to be."

Those words cut a little too deep. His muscles tensed but he managed to keep an outward appearance of calm. His words however, came out cold. "Well, I wish I could say it's been a pleasure talking to you, Schuyler. But we both know I never lie. I need to go unpack. See you around."

Oh, she hoped not. "Not if luck's with me, Montgomery." Vaughn lifted her cup to him, a form of goodbye, and hopefully a long term one. And then she finished off her latte, and got back into line for another one. Now that Montgomery was around, it appeared that she was going to need a lot of coffee to get through the year.

Cole shook his head in disbelief and annoyance before stalking out of the door. _Claymore at Yale_, he thought with disdain. _God help us all. _


	2. Chapter 2: I'm the same old trailer tras...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent, therefore we do not own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Author's Note**:  Schuyler is pronounced "schoular".

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

Chapter 2: I'm the same old trailer trash in new shoes 

English Composition. Rory stood outside the classroom for a minute, a big smile plastered across her face. It had taken her twenty minutes to locate this classroom and she was almost ready to panic when someone had kindly pointed out to her that she was standing in front of it. This was her first class. She was a freshman in college. This moment was monumental. "Wow."

Cole entered his English Composition slowly, almost cautiously, as if he was looking out for someone, probably a Claymore. Nothing was safe with a Schuyler Vaughn Claymore on the loose. No sign of the strawberry blonde, and he let out a breath that he hadn't realized that he'd been holding. Now where to sit was a completely different question. He found a pretty brunette sitting up in the front, looking- God help him- eager. That was as good as any, and perhaps it'd clear his mind of other things. "Hi," he greeted her.

Rory hadn't paid much attention to the guy who sat down in the row next to her when he came in (she was busy marveling at the classroom) but now, she turned around to look at him, happy that people seemed to be so friendly. He was handsome she had to admit. Strikingly so. She smiled a little too shyly. "Hi."

"Cole Montgomery," he felt the need to get it out of the way immediately considering the last two people he'd met with hadn't referred to him favorably before he gave out his name.

"Rory Gilmore," she replied, her nervousness dissipating under his friendly gaze. "I hope I'm in the right class. It took me a long time to find this one and it would suck if it were the wrong one because of some glitch in the Yale bureaucracy and I tend to blabber incoherently at times so I'm just going to shut up."

Cole laughed, "Well this is English Composition, if that helps you." It was odd to be near such happiness and eagerness. His sister, Veronica was a sour, brooding sort that saw only the worse in everything.

She smiled in relief that he wasn't scooping out a new place to sit. "I heard in the hallways that Prof. Brownwen was really tough. And it was hard to get a C on the first paper. And that was the PG version of his description." 

"Well, it could be a rumor Brownwen starts to decrease the numbers in his classes," Cole suggested, he knew the old practice of getting rid of the slackers before the class even began. "It was common practice at Browning."

"Your old high school?" Rory asked curiously. For some reason, this guy seemed fascinating. She needed to make new friends. He was nice. Why the hell not? 

"Yes, it was that, my junior high school and my primary school," Though all three were understatements for Browning's rigorous academic curriculum. She looked interested, so he continued on. "It's over on East 62nd Street in New York."

She smiled. "My roommate is from New York too. It must be a great place to live. I've always wondered what it would be like to live in such a big city." She loved Stars Hollow, but it was a sheltered life she led there. 

Cole wondered for a split moment if her roommate was Schuyler Vaughn herself, but no, fate didn't have such a twisted sense of humor. "It's actually quite small, since you're restricted to the 'acceptable' portions of the city, deemed by your parents. Going out into Chinatown, or even downtown was like visiting a whole another city."

"Oh yeah, the seedy underbelly of the city," Rory joked, leaning back in her chair. "There was a restricted place like that in Stars Hollow, where I come from. Not many muggers or murderers there but children are told stories of the eccentric town recluse who lives in a shack so they get in bed lest he should show up. My mom and I went searching for him. He invited us in for coffee."

"And you came out alive?" Cole asked, leaning back in his chair. "That must have damaged the plan of whoever was trying to keep people away from there."

"My mom wanted to tell everyone at the town meeting," she answered. When his brows drew together in surprise, she gave him a half-smile. "Yes, we had town meetings. It's one of our quirks. Anyway, I stopped her from becoming a pariah among parents. She manages to get on their bad sides, often." 

"We had a radical like that at one of the PTA meetings, she believed that parents should attend the meeting so that it will be a true PTA meeting," Cole shrugged, "Else wise we should rename it NTA meetings. Since it was all nannies that attended them, or butlers. Butlers were also big."

She laughed lightly but before she could respond, the Professor was standing in front of the class, a stern look on his face as he waited for the students to settle down. Once they did he walked to the desk and started arranging his papers, not saying a word. Rory's brows furrowed. She looked over at Cole, who remained passive. He passed her a piece of paper, smiling. She opened it and read: _Coffee?_ She smiled and scribbled down her answer. _Sure. _

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Most people thought being short was a detriment in life, and a good cause of misery. Since Vaughn was vertically challenged at the height of five feet, she was able to disagree with this statement, since she rather liked being short. It gave her more options; she could be short when she wanted to. Or hiked up to average in a pair of rather large heels. Tall people couldn't be short; there was no way around it. This love of being short, however, did not extend to this particular moment in time. Since the book she needed for her freshman psychology class was topping over at the six-foot mark. If there wasn't a possibility of her foot being broken, she would have kicked the bookcase, and not to mention the possibility of her being killed by falling textbooks either. Thinking about what was best for her body, she settled for scowling at it instead.

Tristan stood at the end of the bookcase, watching the petite blonde – uh, strawberry blonde? – scowl ferociously at a book resting on the highest shelf. He didn't know if it was the scowl or the girl that struck something in him, but he was having a great time watching her try and reach the book and then giving up to have a staring contest with it. He walked up to her quietly, contemplating on a greeting. When he came to stand beside her, she looked up at him. Her scowl lost its viciousness and was turning into a wary frown. His brow quirked as he kept a smirk at bay. "Need some help?"

"No, any second now the magic heightening pills will kick in and I'll be set," Vaughn cringed after she said it, it had to be Montgomery's presence that turned her into such a bitch. She pulled herself mentally together, reminding herself that he, as in the attractive of blonde standing next to her, was not the source of her problems. She turned and grinned at him. "Yes, your help would be very much appreciated."

He smiled at her sudden attitude change, reached up and pulled out the psychology textbook with ease. He handed it to her and she looked a little sheepish so he decided to calm her down. She had the most intriguing eyes. He'd never seen that color…it seemed almost unnatural. "Is it just me or is my entire gender deserving of the same scorn you showed this bookcase?"

"I'd never be so hasty as to say your entire gender deserves that kind of scorn," mainly it was down to Montgomery men and a few ex-boyfriends. Asses. Vaughn shook her head; she really needed to think happier thoughts, like the blonde's blue eyes. They were nice. In fact he had officially earned the title of 'Cute Bookstore Guy'. Not knowing people's names could be more fun for her, than actually knowing. "Just a few select few."

He laughed a little, pocketing his hands in the pocket of his jeans. "You sound like a few of my ex-girlfriends. Remind me never to get on your bad side. Those eyes of yours are dangerous." Did he just say that? 

Dangerous? Huh. She had never been called that before, in fact 'cute' and 'too adorable for words' were about the most she could get from people when it came to describing her. Hell, even the time she was nearly booted from boarding school, her actions had been considered 'cute'. She considered them weird, but to each their own. "Dangerous, huh? In what way?"

Tristan tried to regain his composure. He expected that she would slap him. Or called him a jerk and stomp off indignantly. But the girl in front of him just looked curious, as she had no idea what he was talking about. Obviously she was one of those girls who didn't realize the effect they had on the opposite sex. A little flustered, he chuckled. "Just that I saw the way you were staring at that book. Heaven forbid an actual person having to withstand that gaze."

Ah, that kind of dangerous. "Many have tried, but very few have lived." Vaughn hugged the textbook to her chest, looking over at the line. Too long to be a part of. "I'm Schuyler Vaughn Claymore, by the way. Vaughn to most, Schuyler only to the suicidal."

He liked that name. Unique, like the color of her eyes and hair. "I most certainly do not have a death wish, Vaughn. Not today anyways. I'm Tristan DuGrey. I don't have a nickname and no one has dared to make one."

Tristan, like from Tristan and Isolde or The Divine Comedy, only less tragic. She liked that; then again she liked literary references. "It's a good name, why mar it?"

"Exactly," he answered with a smile. He looked at the textbook hugged against her chest (and yes, he tried not to stare at her breasts but it was kind of hard not to). "So you're a psychology major?" 

"Minor," Vaughn corrected, she had debated endlessly with herself with what her major should be. The only thing she had been able to nix off right away was Religious Studies. She'd had enough of that to last an eternity and beyond. "It's actually Medieval Studies, which makes me now sound like a total dork or really lazy."

A little more comfortable and confident with her, he gave her his famous once-overs that were meant to be more complimentary than disgusting and smiled. "You're definitely no dork. Can I buy you coffee?"

What a dilemma, she could go get coffee, one of her top five favorite things in the world, with an attractive male, or she could not. Well, let's see, was she stupid? No, she didn't think so. "Sure, Tristan."

~*~ 

"You know," Rory said as Cole took a sip of his coffee and smiled widely. He had such a charming smile. She wondered how many hearts he had broken, how many girls he'd left back in New York City who had fallen for those eyes, that quick, friendly smile and  - even she couldn't deny it because she wasn't blind – that body. "My mother and you would be fast friends."

"Oh?" he said as they sat down at a table, near the window.

"Mm-hm," she answered after taking a sip of her own coffee. Before Cole could reply, he saw a familiar shade of blonde and closed his eyes. Was he going to run the risk of meeting her at this damned Starbucks every time? If so, he might as well start looking for a new place to get his daily fix. Rory's brows furrowed. "Cole?"

"Damn," he muttered and then smiled at the brunette sheepishly. "Sorry, I just saw someone I'd rather not. She's standing over there by the counter…with that blonde guy who looks very familiar…"

Rory turned around, intrigued. 

Ugly Scary Lady had replaced cute Counter Guy; it hurt to look at her. So Vaughn turned her gaze onto the much more pleasant person next to her in line. "I got a latte the last time I was here." Actually two, since Montgomery had upset her so much. "So I was thinking of going with something different this time. What say you- mochaccino or a French Vanilla cappuccino?"

Tristan had rarely seen someone so vitalized by the idea of coffee, rather than just the drinking of it. He watched rather amused, for a few moments before answering her. "I'm more of an English Toffee person, actually."

"That is a good choice, too," Vaughn agreed. So many choices, so little time left before they were up to order. "You'll have to excuse me, I spent the past six years at a Catholic school, caffeine was frowned upon so my fixes were limited to the summer. I'm making up for lost time."

Well the Catholic School attendance explained her earlier naivety on what he had been saying earlier. "Nuns don't like coffee?"

"No they said it made you do bad things," Vaughn replied, as it was time for them to order. She decided on the French Vanilla. 

"Like fidget in class?" Tristan teased as he watched her do just that as she poured the sugar into her cup.

She nodded, finishing up stirring the sugar into her cup and looking around for a place to sit. It was busier than it had been when she was last there. "Amongst othe…" Her voice trailed off as her gaze met the last person she wanted to see. 

"Something wrong?" Tristan asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"No, just seeing someone I don't want to," Vaughn replied with a sigh, she gestured to where Cole and the brunette he was with. "Old family friend, I guess is what his title would be."

Tristan turned to look where she had pointed.

Rory turned back to Cole, still unsure if her eyes were seeing clearly. She'd seen Vaughn and the guy who looked familiar to her too. Too many things hit her at once: Cole knew Vaughn and apparently didn't like her and the familiar blond guy was Tristan DuGrey, fresh out of military school. Confused, her eyes widened in Cole's direction. "That's Vaughn. My roommate." 

Cole grinned wryly. "And that's Tristan my roommate."

"I know Tristan."

"I know Vaughn, unfortunately." 

Rory, still in shock turned around again and motioned for Vaughn to join them.

Tristan blinked, wondering if he needed his eyes checked. Because that really couldn't be his roommate, the aspiring John Mellencamp Jr. and Rory Gilmore sitting together. Rory Gilmore, the almost-obsessed-with-Harvard-as-Paris, Rory Gilmore. Here in New Haven. At Yale in New Haven. But, no, there was nothing wrong with his eyesight that really was Rory and Cole. Now that his shock had died down at seeing Rory Gilmore, he remembered what Vaughn had said earlier. She knew Cole, didn't like him, but knew him. 

"You know Cole?"

Vaughn nodded, "Grew up in the Upper Westside of New York City together. The girl he's with is Rory, my roommate."

"I know Rory," Tristan stated. "We went to the same private school for a year or two."

"Oh," That was surprising. "Before military school?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

She debated on how to get out of Rory's invitation to join them, but since Tristan and Rory knew each other, there really was no way to get out of it. She took a large gulp of her French Vanilla, ignoring the burning hot going down her throat and then headed towards the Rory-Cole table.

Cole managed a tight smile as his roommate and Vaughn approached the table. Rory, who had gotten over her shock, was smiling brightly. Damn, he wished her cheerfulness were contagious. When the blondes reached the table, Rory stood up a little too excited. "Hi! Vaughn, Tristan…I didn't know you were here. Well of course I knew you were here Vaughn, I just didn't know Tristan was here and that…sorry. Hey Tristan, it's good to see you."

Tristan slid into the table, watching her warily; people who said his name three times rather frightened him. At least she was mature enough not to yell at him and berate him for being immature years ago. Well two at least. "Hey Rory, good to see you too."

Vaughn fell into the seat next to Tristan. "Hey Rory." She glanced sullenly at Cole. "Montgomery."

"Schuyler," he said, mimicking her tone. "So DuGrey, Rory tells me that the two of you know each other. Didn't you go to military school?"

Rory grinned a little. "We went to Chilton together for a year and a half was it? I'm not sure because you spent so much time in suspension." As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted saying them. She had meant them as a joke but from the look on Tristan's face she knew that he didn't think it was too funny. She needed to apologize fast. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I thought that prank was funny."

Tristan shrugged it off; he had been stupid in high school. It wasn't any type of state secret. "It's all right, I was laughing about it until I hit military school."

Cole smiled widely, always in mood to hear a good prank story. "What did you do?"

Rory was still feeling bad for what she said. Seeing Tristan after so long, especially since she thought she'd never see him again had thrown her off and she needed time to sort out her thoughts and figure out how she was supposed to act around him. She felt like she needed to compensate. "It was a great prank. I only heard it through the rumor mill. What did you really do?"

He assumed that she meant the car thing, since the safe thing wasn't great and she had heard it from him. "Yeah, we took apart a car and rebuilt in the hallway." Tristan shrugged, two years later, it didn't really seem all that great.

"A few girls did that at St. Helene's," Vaughn spoke up. "Or at least attempted it."

"What happened?" Tristan took the opportunity to take the attention off of him and his early teenage stupidity.

"Well they were Catholic school girls," she said simply. "They did alright at the dismembering but they just couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again."

Tristan laughed, feeling much more relaxed about talking about the prank. And launched into detail on how they had managed to take apart and then put back the car.

Rory leaned back against her chair and watched as Tristan easily engaged both Cole and Vaughn into a conversation (and even managed to remove the tension that the foursome had created). He was smiling, laid back and completely comfortable. It was nice seeing him like this – sans attitude. The only thing that bothered her was that he hadn't looked at her even once since he sat down. 


	3. Chapter 3: It seems to me you'll always...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent therefore we claim no ownership to the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emile De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

Chapter 3: It seems to me - you'll always be, everyone else's girl

Water was a funny thing. For one, it turned Vaughn's hair until a normal light red color that was normal. And it also made her hair slightly wavy instead of curly. She pulled the brush through it one more time before opening the door to her dorm room, after years of having to share a bathroom; it wasn't a big deal to walk down the hall to take a shower. Which is why the girls that was in there at the same time, complaining about it, seemed more ridiculous than they would in everyday life. Vaughn had closed the door, when she noticed Rory sitting at the desk by the window.

"Studying hard already?" Vaughn asked, as she began to rummage through her pajamas.

Rory tucked her hair behind her ear and turned to look at her roommate. "Actually, I was just staring at the textbook, pretending to study. I come to college and lose my ability to concentrate on my homework. Go figure."

Vaughn pulled out her green pajamas and looked over her shoulder at Rory, "That's what I came for. Go figure."

She laughed lightly and looked at the textbook sourly. The words seemed to make no sense and her eyes were beginning to hurt. Sighing, she resigned to the fact that she wouldn't be able to finish the required reading tonight. She wondered why she was feeling so out of the loop. She turned to Vaughn and furrowed her brows. "Is it possible to miss someone you hardly knew?"

Vaughn thought about it for a moment, "As possible as it is to not miss somebody you've always known." She set her pajamas down; she wasn't in the mood to change yet.

Rory thought about that for a minute. That statement alone gave her some idea about what Vaughn's relationship with people in her life in New York must've been like. She wondered if it was her parents or her friends that Vaughn didn't miss. The next question that came to her mind, slipped from her mouth before she could stop it. "Why don't you like Cole?"

There were so many answers to that question that Vaughn could have laughed. However, she knew that it wouldn't have made much sense to an outsider. They barely made sense to her. So she sat down on the floor and sighed. "I suppose you want more than the explanation that he's Cole?"

"If that's the explanation you feel comfortable with, then okay," she replied with a small grin. "Believe me, a reason like that in my book, is always safe. It's kind of like that with Tristan."

She tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear, "Really? I can't picture Tristan as anything other than adorably charming. But it's not that he's just Cole, it's this family thing. It's stupid and it's clichéd. But he's still an ass."

Rory let out a shocked giggle. "Cole? An ass? And Tristan? Adorable? You obviously don't know Tristan like I do. Cole is so nice."

Vaughn rolled her eyes, "Montgomery is only nice when he wants to be. And that's not often. As for Tristan, I guess I've always had a soft spot for the charmers. It probably comes from all the repressing of sexual desires they drilled into us at St. Helene's."

Rory frowned inwardly. Up until now, Vaughn had said Tristan was charming and adorable. But now it was about sex? If the two of them hooked up (the possibility of it was unsettling) then how odd would it be for her? She furrowed her brows, studying the blonde's face contemplatively. "Are you into Tristan…in _that_ way?"

She blinked, "Uh, yeah. Have you not seen him? It's kind of hard to look at him and not picture him in that way. But not in a serious, I want to see him in a marriage bed kind of way."

Maybe she was finding it so hard to believe that Vaughn, who seemed to level headed and smart, was so drawn to Tristan. But then again, Paris was smart and yet she harbored a crush on Tristan for years. Louise and Madeline had drooled over him from a distance on many occasions. He had been the most sought after guy at Chilton. Or maybe it was just her. Of course she knew he was good-looking, seeing him today only reminded her just how much. Vaughn was still staring at her so she blinked and replied, "oh."

"You don't ever picture him that way?" Vaughn asked. It didn't matter what the personality was, if the guy was attractive enough you got at least a flash of a guy like that. Cole was a testament to that, at least.

Had she? She didn't know. That year, everything had been so crazy. He'd _driven_ her crazy. But had she ever thought of him in that way? A memory flashed in her mind's eye: That intense look in his eyes as he leaned forward - and she found herself moving closer too. That one moment when his lips touched hers. _It was a nice kiss. Not at all crying material. _Oh yeah, it had happened. She shrugged, a little uneasy. "He's Tristan."

Vaughn laughed out loud, she hadn't seen someone so oblivious to a man's appeal since the nuns at St. Helene's. Even then, that was questionable. A thought occurred to her, "You've had a boyfriend…right?"

It was Rory's turn to laugh. "Yes. Two, in fact."

Well that was a relief. Sort of. "What were they like?"

Hmm. She'd never had to actually describe her boyfriends to someone. It was a little weird. "My first boyfriend, Dean, was tall. He had the nicest blue eyes. He was really sweet. The first time he kissed me, I ended up shop lifting cornstarch from the local grocer's. He built me a car." 

"Tall's good," Vaughn nodded, "I like tall. But then again, pretty much anything is tall to me. What was the second one like?"

She smiled a little, thinking of Jess. It still hurt; the memory of their goodbye was still ringing in her head. But he had a life to lead and she had her dreams to pursue. She had loved him, still did. "He was the complete opposite of Dean. Jess was intense and kind of a bad boy. My mother hated him. We started off rough and maybe that's why it didn't last. He lives in Boston now, with his dad."

Bad boys. So much more interesting. "Was that where he was originally from? Boston?"

"Brooklyn. He used to live with his mother until she sent him away to Stars Hollow to live with his uncle, Luke." She felt a little pang as she thought of the owner of one of her most favorite places in the world. Shaking her head a little, she smiled at her roommate. "What about you? What were your boyfriends like?" 

"Well number one was, like," Vaughn racked her brain for a memory of Baker. But had been three years so it took a moment. "Well, Baker wasn't like Mr. Perfect, like your Dean, or Mr. Screwed Up Bad Boy, like your Jess. He wasn't very tall. Taller than me. He was this artist type. I got drawing lessons from him, actually. Don't ask me why I needed them."

Rory grinned. "I won't. But I would like to see your drawings." She curled up on her bed and smiled. "What about Cole? Did you ever have a thing for him?"

Vaughn guffawed; she'd rather commit…well some atrocious crime than have a thing for Cole Montgomery. "Cole? No. I was twelve; both of us were, when at last I really saw him. Though," she leaned forward, "he has this older brother, Nicky. He was always 'wow', doesn't look like Cole much though. He has this dark mahogany hair, and like these nearly black eyes. I use to stand in awe whenever I saw him."

Rory's eyes widened in disbelief and she sat up on her bed, incredulous. "I'm sure his brother is good looking. But you are seriously telling me that you don't find Cole attractive? Have you seen those eyes?" 

"Many times, they are amazing eyes," really amazing. It's one of the reasons she didn't look him in the eye too often, beside the whole height thing, it was hard to stay angry with eyes like that. "But there comes a point where personality overrides looks."

Now that was a statement that made Rory even more curious about what went on between the two. But she respected Vaughn's privacy and hoped that one day it would come out. She rather liked Cole and didn't want to have any tension between him and her roommate. But she understood what Vaughn was saying. "That's what it's like with me and Tristan. We just clash." 

That was something Vaughn understood all too well. In a way, though it wasn't exactly the same thing. "It's like that with Cole, just once upon a time not so much. But it's over, and I'm over it."

~*~ 

"_You never close you eyes anymore when I kiss you liiips_," Cole sang as he put away his textbooks and shut down his laptop. First day of classes went smoothly except for the whole Schuyler thing. But he wasn't going to let her ruin this college experience. He hadn't seen her for six years so now; it didn't matter where they stood. "_And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertiiips_."

He had heard the singing when he was outside the door, but Tristan had hoped that it was an auditory hallucination. Unfortunately, when he had swung the door open, his ears were still assaulted by Cole's singing voice. No hallucination at all. "We're really going to have to work on that nasty habit of yours." He shrugged his light jacket off and threw it onto the bed.

Cole turned around and grinned at his roommate. It had been a couple of days but he already loved bugging Tristan.  "Ah, DuGrey! Join me in a rousing rendition of a classic!"

"Uh, that's okay, I was taught to preserve the classics," Tristan shucked off his shoes. "Not destroy them."

"Oh ye of little faith," he replied and then sighed. "Fine, I'll stop. But you have to answer a question. Is there something about Rory Gilmore that you don't like?"

No, that had been the source of his problem in high school. "No, but I'd ask her the same question about me. I'm sure there's a list of less than wonderful traits and stories about me that she remembers from Chilton."

"She doesn't seem like that kind of a person," Cole mused and sat down on his bed, facing Tristan. "She was happy to see you."

That was true; Rory Gilmore was too…nice to be that bitter over such small things. "Unlike a certain strawberry blonde's reaction to you, Montgomery. I can see you have a great way with the ladies. One day I can only aspire to make someone hate me as much as she appears to hate you."

He shrugged. Tristan didn't know how difficult Schuyler was - how annoying. Even thinking about her left a bitter taste in his mouth. "The feeling is very much reciprocated, believe me. That girl has serious issues. Don't change the subject on me, man. What happened between you and Rory?"

"We only knew each other for like a year, so not a lot," well it was a lot at the time. But not so much anymore. "She came to Chilton, took an instant dislike to me. I was obnoxious - it's understandable. Then decided I was worth befriending, later not. Also understandable. It was a cycle until I got shipped off to military school."

"Sounds bumpy." But he got it. Schuyler and him had been friends – too long ago for him to remember too clearly but he knew there was a time when they both had actually enjoyed each other's company. Like when they were four. An odd question popped into his head. "Do you like Schuyler?"

"Sure," what wasn't to like? She was cute, funny and intelligent. "I thought she preferred to be called Vaughn."

Cole smiled wryly. "One of the things she hates most about me, I suppose. Girls hate it when you call them something they don't want to be called. Ever experience that?"

All too well, in fact Tristan could still feel the impact of Rory's exclamation of what her name was on the day of Medina's test. "Yeah, try calling Rory 'Mary' one of these days."

Cole laughed because he understood that prep school insult. There were a few girls who his friends had dubbed as Mary. "I see that about her. It's kind of endearing. Plus, she's awfully pretty."

Of course she was, it was the first thing Tristan had noticed about her. She was pretty in a natural way, not the manufactured way like all the other girls. "Gee whiz, Montgomery, you think so?"

He rolled his eyes and stood up and stretched. "I think I'm going to ask her out."

Tristan's head snapped up at that, but he covered his surprise as quickly as possible. "Haven't you already done that?"

The look that passed fleetingly over Tristan's face didn't go unnoticed by Cole. He wondered what it was about but then shrugged it off, thinking it was surprise. "Well yeah, I guess. But that was just coffee. I was thinking the whole dinner and movie route. Is she that kind of a girl?"

Well she wasn't the concert kind of girl. "I guess," Tristan shrugged. "Oh wait, she liked this one with a Louie in it. Had to do with friendship or something."

So she was a classics girl. Nice. Cole grinned and flopped down on his bed. "I thought you preserved classics, DuGrey."

~*~ 

Rory hated vending machines. The one she was standing in front of had eaten her seventy-five cents and was refusing to dispense her Snickers bar. She banged on the glass (not hard enough to break it but enough to turn her hand red) and then scowled at it. Sighing she rummaged through her purse, looking for another seventy-five cents to try again. 

Tristan leaned against the side of the vending machine, trying to hide his amusement. He held his hand out, filled with three quarters. "Need some?"

She was so startled that she dropped her purse, sending it contents splattering to the floor. She bit back a scream of frustration and bent down to pick her stuff up. "The stupid machine ate my only quarters. This place is cursed." 

He crouched down to help her gather the contents of her purse. "It's a vending machine, it wouldn't be one if it didn't eat silver and copper. That's why I go to a store."

She reached for the wallet he had picked up for her, smiling. "I'm kind of surprised you're talking to me." 

"Did you do something wrong?"

"You tell me," she replied as they both stood up. "It just seemed like you weren't so happy to see me yesterday. Not that you would be happy. But since we know each other and we did go to school together and we were kind of fri…are you mad at me or something?" 

Tristan scratched his head, mussing his blonde hair slightly with the action. "Uh, no. Have you been deprived of caffeine or something? 'Cause I was happy to see you yesterday, surprised. But pleasantly surprised."

"Oh so when you basically don't look at someone or direct any comments towards her then you're pleasantly surprised," she said with mock understanding. "I get it now." 

"And when he offers you seventy-five cents, he's over it," Tristan offered. He had never met a girl that made less sense than Rory Gilmore. "And I'm, um, sorry for being overly inattentive to you?"

Now she felt like she was being senseless. What was is about Tristan DuGrey that had her confused? She had obviously read too much into his behavior. She wasn't used to this…_normal_ Tristan. She was half-expecting him to pull one over on her or something. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She wasn't going to let him drive her crazy. She started laughing and opened her eyes. She grabbed the quarters from his hand. "It's okay. I need sustenance."

Tristan let out a sigh of relief that he couldn't contain if he wanted to. "I can tell. If this doesn't work, we're bringing you to a store, by the way. Never give a vending machine more than a dollar-fifty."

"Words to live by." She slipped the quarters into the slit and punched in the numbers. This time, the machine whirred and the Snickers bar fell to the bottom with a thump. She smiled triumphantly. "You have magic quarters, Tristan! I'm going to live off of your inheritance."

He shrugged; the quarters were shiny and new. Vending machines liked that. "Then it's a very good thing I have enough to support this whole floor. Otherwise we might have to look elsewhere for quarters."

The two of them started to walk away from the vending machine and towards the exit. She opened her candy bar and since they were his quarters, she broke off half and shoved it in front of his face. "Have some. And quick because this offer lasts for a limited time." 

Tristan blinked before extracting the piece of candy bar from her fingers and popping it into his mouth.

She smiled at him brightly, licking the caramel off her fingers. "I was heading to the library. What about you?"

He returned her smile, "The library. Looks like you're stuck with me a little while longer, Gilmore."


	4. Chapter 4: Would you believe in anything...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we do not own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

Chapter 4: Would you believe in anything that comes from me that I didn't hear from you?

Darks in the washing machine? Check. Her copy of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle? Check, and reading. Her Discman with the latest matchbox twenty disc? Check, and on. Her Milky Way Lite bar? Check, and nibbling on. Vaughn was set and ready to go for the next hour or so of laundry. She smoothed out her usual laundry attire- a Strawberry Shortcake t-shirt proclaiming, "Life is delicious" and a red skirt. Laundry time was the best part of her week, for it was Vaughn-time. Just her, Upton and Rob Thomas.

Okay, so Cole had led a privileged life. He admitted that he had always had his work done for him – first by the many servants on the Montgomery payroll and then later, at Browning, his roommate was duped into doing a lot of his bidding. Hey, he couldn't let his inherent charm and killer smile go to waste, could he? It wasn't a gift meant to squander. He frowned. But his list of talents did not include doing laundry. He stared at the washing machine. Oh, hell.

In the novels, though not this one since it was mainly about the atrocious nature of the meat packing industry, they always talked about the sixth sense about knowing when a person was there. So maybe that was what prompted Vaughn to look up from her novel, or maybe it was the novel itself since it was at a rather graphic part. But how she ended up looking up was not of importance rather, that she had was. Because she had, she found herself looking at none other Cole Montgomery. The bastard didn't even know where his own laundry room was, why should he have been able to find this one? Maybe if she ignored him, he'd go away.

It was the shirt he noticed first. It was kind of hard not to notice it, the bright red strawberry in the middle, the doll on top of it…the word _delicious_. Then of course, he let his gaze travel up the rest of her, resting on those eyes. Annoyed Schuyler. He couldn't resist. "Pretending I'm not here isn't going to make me go away, Claymore."

Vaughn knew that, she had been trying since she was nine. So she sighed reluctantly, put down The Jungle, and slid her headphones off her ears and led it settle around her neck. "Couldn't find a poor unsuspecting fool to do your laundry for you?"

His lips twisted into an unwilling, unrepentant grin. It amazed him that she knew exactly what he was thinking. Actually, it unnerved him. But he wasn't going to let her know that. "Unfortunately, people at Yale are actually smart and DuGrey doesn't take too kindly to being manipulated. I am in a rut." 

And she was going to enjoy every moment of it. There was nothing so amusing as watching a rich boy attempt to do laundry for the first time. Especially when said rich boy was Montgomery. In fact this might surpass the time she watched her brother, Leo, turn his clothes pink. "Imagine that," she pondered out loud. "People at Yale are actually intelligent. Who'da thunk it?"

He knew this would never work on her, but he tried anyway; he was desperate. He smiled at her, the smile he heard some girls describe as devastating. "Schuyler Vaughn - "

"Finish that sentence and I may fall to the floor, laughing," Vaughn interrupted him. "And while I'm not against such mirth, it is inappropriate in the laundry room, so I ask you to strongly consider revising what you are going to say. For both our sakes."

"Well at least I can still make you laugh." As soon as those words were out of his mouth, he realized his mistake. He heard the wistfulness in his own voice and could have cringed. But, instead, he ignored his own words and her reaction to it and bent down to open the lid of the washing machine. "There's a first time for everything."

"So there is," Vaughn agreed for lack of better words to use. For example, this was the first time when words had actually failed her so that she was left with the deflated sound of her voice as she used a common phrase or reply. The first time she didn't have an acerbic comment to return to Cole. The first time she really didn't care to make one.

Good, she sounded indifferent. He was a master at playing it cool. "Okay, so the lid is open. Now what do I do?"

Vaughn raised an eyebrow, or tried to. Serious eyebrow raising wasn't exactly her forte, "I'm sorry, I must have missed the part where I was helping you. And to answer your question, you stand in the middle of it and turn it on."

He scratched the back of his head. "Is that before or after you put in the clothes? And how much detergent do you use? And that whole separating thing? I never understood it. C'mon Schuyler, you don't wanna see me beg."

"Yes I do," Vaughn automatically replied. "And detergent first, then the standing, then the turning on, and then the clothes. Separating is a myth. But this all comes after the begging."

Huh. He'd never stoop so low as to beg. Especially not when the person on the receiving end was Schuyler Vaughn. She'd given him a lot of information. And he wasn't a complete idiot. He grinned and reached for the small box of Tide. "I lied."

"Color me shocked," but she still watched the box with a hint of wariness.

"_Shot through the heart, and you're to blame_. _You give love a bad name_!" He opened the box and poured in some detergent. 

Oh, he was going to do the singing thing. Vaughn could put her headphones on again, but she feared that Cole's voice would drown out Rob Thomas's, thus ruining matchbox twenty for her forever. That left only one or two options, render him speechless or murder him. The latter was far more appealing, but the whole arrest and trial thing would suck. "So, I hear red heads are good in bed. Since I'm strawberry blonde does that mean I'm only semi-passionate?"

His hand stopped, mid-air as the detergent kept tumbling out of the box and into the machine. He was pretty sure his pulse was racing because suddenly, images of Schuyler in bed were running through his mind. Semi-passionate? With a tongue like that? Not in a million years. Damn, now he was thinking about her tongue. Clearing his throat, he said the only thing he knew would stop her from ever discussing sex with him again. "Who knows? With all the ice running through your veins someone may never find out." 

Her eyes narrowed but she quickly recovered. She was who she was, and whatever Montgomery said didn't matter. He didn't know her, least of all carnally. Never would either. So she shrugged, "I'm sure I could find out. But all that hassle of going through my address books just seems like a waste of time."

When the thought of burning her alleged black book crossed his mind, he ignored it. He didn't care what, and more importantly, _who_, Schuyler did. He shrugged too and twisted his lips in mock regret. "Poor bastard missed out on an opportunity of a lifetime."

"Actually he didn't," Vaughn's lips twisted into a half smirk. "Unless you're counting the phone call as a major event."

Cole snorted. "Yeah well, I'd expect that little from you." He knew it was mean and probably a line he shouldn't have crossed, but that had never stopped him before.

"As opposed to the pump-'em-and-dump-'em rule of the Montgomery men?" She paused, and added simply because she knew almost nothing would piss him off more. "Excluding Nicky, of course."

He could have fell to the floor with laughter. Nicholas Montgomery had broken more hearts – and pried apart more legs, than anyone he had ever known. But of course, Schuyler would never believe that. He gave her a grin and dumped his clothes into the machine. "Oh, that's right. You're in love with Nick. I had forgotten." 

Actually she hadn't thought of him since she had arrived at St. Helene's, but it was the only thing she could pull out on such quick notice. "About as much as you're in love with Leo."

"Speaking of whom," he said as he turned the knob on, hoping for the best. "How is that brother of yours? As I recall, he was the only Claymore that I could stand."

That's because Leo nice to everyone. Including Montgomerys. "Married with a kid."

Oh yeah. He remembered Nick telling him that Leo had fallen head over heels for some doctor with great legs. He watched somewhat intrigued as the clothes started to spin in the machine. Well, he did it. "All done."

"Yeah, too bad you put too much detergent in it," Vaughn commented as her washing machine came to a stop. She opened up the top and started digging through the clothes. Bras went on top of the dryer, because in the dryer was bad. Everything else, in the dryer. Yeah, she had learned that the hard way.

He tried really hard not to look at her bras and to concentrate on her comment. "Uh, is that bad? What's going to happen?"

"You're going to explode," she shrugged as she threw the last of it in the dryer and turned it on. "Or at least create a very bubbly mess."

The first one was bad, but he'd risk it. Nothing he could do about it now. The second was less problematic. "Ah, someone will clean it up."

Vaughn checked her watch as she tossed the rest of her stuff into a laundry bag, good she had about a half an hour to grab a meal before coming back to pick up her clothes. "Yeah, you." She grinned at him before walking out of the laundry room.

~*~ 

The sun attacked Rory's eyes and she immediately shielded them with one hand as the other dug into her book bag to retrieve her sunglasses. She turned to Tristan who sauntered out behind her, looking incredulous. "I can't believe you! You made so much noise in there that they were about to throw us out! Can I take you anywhere?"

Tristan put on his own sunglasses before answering, "The Ritz, darling, The Ritz." He smiled at her. "Anything less doesn't deserve to have their rules followed."

She rolled her eyes and slipped her glasses on. "Well, it's not the Ritz and if you promise to behave I'll take you to lunch to this nice like bistro thingy I saw near the Starbucks."

"You'll take me to lunch?" Tristan questioned, stroking his jaw. "I think I could afford it on my own, but thanks."

"It's not everyday I take you to lunch, Tristan," she replied with a smile as they headed down the pavement, through lines of trees. "Count your lucky stars."

"Well I was taught not be ungrateful," Tristan gave in, and followed her towards the way of the café. "So I may as well start counting."

She let out a laugh and when he looked at her inquisitively, she explained, "It's just funny; this situation. A year ago if someone told me we'd be having lunch together I would have…well, I would have laughed."

He shrugged, but smiled at her comment. "If someone had told me, I would have accepted it for the alternate universe that I would have to entered for such an event to take place."

"It's not that far-fetched," she replied, a little uncomfortable. "I mean we are actually on our way to lunch and look, its still pretty much reality. The same universe. I just meant, with the way we left things off…the play and everything."

"Oh yes, the era of my stupidity, as I like to call it," Tristan replied. "So did Paris ever recover?"

"She survived," Rory replied with a grin as they neared the café. "Just don't ask me if she ever forgave you. Have you talked to her, or anyone from Chilton for that matter?"

He nodded, "Of course. To others, I went home for the summer actually. Didn't exactly see Paris around though."

"She was probably busy packing her stuff to get of the mansion as fast as she could," she informed him with another quick grin. They got to the café and he held the door open for her. She smiled shyly and entered as he followed. "Ooh, this is nice."

"You won't think that when you get the bill," he teasingly warned her. "So what did you spend the summer doing?"

"My mother and I rearranged furniture quite a bit," she answered automatically as they waited to be seated. He brows furrowed. "But we ended up putting everything where it was in the first place. On a more serious note, I spent a few days with my father, my step-mother and my baby sister in Boston."

"My parents did something like that when I was eight. Except they had people do it for them, never did work for us again," Tristan told her. "How old is your baby sister?"

"Almost seven months," Rory replied, a little proudly. They were seated five minutes later, at a table near the window. "What about you? You doing anything adventurous this summer?"

"Same old society thing, which sort of bored me so much that I picked my piano lessons back up. Even considered learning the violin to add to my talents, but after one attempt my fingers ached too much and my piano teacher yelled at me for cutting my fingers," Tristan took a sip of the water that had been placed in front of him when they had sat down. "She said I had very _nice_ hands and it'd be a shame if I ruined them."

She opened up a menu and scanned over some of them items. He was right; it was expensive. She hoped she had brought enough money. But she didn't need to let him know she was concerned. She smiled at him brightly. "It all looks good. I didn't realize how I hungry I was until now. Those Snickers commercials? Completely untrue." 

"I could have told you that Gilmore," Tristan told her with a smile, but then another thought occurred to him. It was weird, since it was completely random. "So, when you went to that Starbucks with Cole. Was it a date thing? Did you finally drop Bag Boy?"

"Cole and I were not on a date," she answered, shaking her head. At least, she didn't think of it as one. The she gave him a pointed look. "And _Dean_ and I haven't been dating for a long time, now."

The surprise was there, but he dramatized it a little, "You mean you found someone strong enough to pull you out of Dean's clutches?"

"Although I don't appreciate your tone, Tristan, but yes, I did." It was weird how easily that came out. She hadn't seen this guy for more than a year and she was already comfortable enough to talk about her relationships. Strange. "His name is Jess."

"Well that explains why I never had a chance in high school. You go for one-syllable names," He tested his own, exaggerating it. "Tris-tan. The tan was the death of me." At her increasingly annoyed look. "All right, I'm done lamenting. Now tell me about Jess. Was he tall, too?"

"Why are you people so obsessed with height?" she asked rhetorically. The waitress came to take their order, preventing her from answering his question. Once they ordered, she addressed the question. "Jess wasn't as tall as Dean. In fact, he's shorter than you. But does that matter? What matters is what's on the inside."

"I was just worried about your health. You keep going around kissing tall boys like you were with Dean, and you may cause serious damage on your spinal cord."

"Of course, my health." She smiled at him as he chuckled. She folded her arms on the table, looking at him contemplatively. "Something's different about you, yet still the same. Does that make any sense?"

It made sense; he'd noticed it since he started attending military school. His Grandfather told him that he was becoming the man he was going to be the rest of his life. Freaky. "Maybe it means I'm growing up."

"That's good," she replied, fingering her napkin and giving him another huge grin. "I like Grown-up-Tristan."

He shifted uncomfortably under such praise. Tristan now remembered why she hadn't fit in with the crowd at Chilton. She was too genuine, too real. "Uh, yeah. So what was your relationship like with Jess?"


	5. Chapter 5: I couldn't tell, if anyone he...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

Chapter 5: I couldn't tell, if anyone here was feeling the way I do 

John Mellencamp_. _Uh, Tristan had had enough of Cole's type of music for one day. His eyes scanned the list on songs in the jukebox and rested on "The Distance" by Live. Once it was selected, he straightened and sighed. Much better. He turned and abruptly ran into a certain strawberry blonde. "Hey Vaughn." 

"Hey Tristan," Vaughn listened to a few lines of the song he had selected before she recognized the song. "Oh, so glad to see you don't have your roommate's taste in music."

He grinned and gestured towards the pool table. "So do you have some time to play?"

Well it was definitely more appealing at the moment than studying. "There's always time for pool."

"Finally," he announced as he racked the balls together. "A girl who doesn't pretend she doesn't know how to play."

She chalked her cue as she replied, "Well, I have an older brother who taught me. Plus, I went to a Catholic Boarding school where all things forbidden must be done."

"My kind of girl," he winked and leaned down, positioning the cue between his fingers, ready to break. "So how are classes?" 

"Well a lot better now that there isn't a few dozen theology classes mixed in," Vaughn replied. It was funny how a Catholic school reinforced her belief in atheism. But it was as Mark Twain said- _the best cure for Christianity is reading the bible_.

"Amen to that."

"Atheist as well?" Vaughn asked. "Well, closet atheist at least. I don't think my father would like it if I were all public about it."

"It's not a matter of not believing, I just don't think some people should write books about something they have no authority on." He aimed and sent purple ball sailing into the corner pocket. "So are your parents strict?"

No they were rather loose, her mother an adulteress and her father with his new girlfriend every other week. But image was everything, and she was a direct reflection of them. Scary thought, that. "Not really. My mom does her society thing, and my father produces plays on Broadway." She shrugged. "The Catholic school thing was more of a way not to deal with custody when they got divorced."

He understood all too well. Since she didn't seem broken up about it, he shrugged. "At least you have it better than me. I wish my parents would just let go, already. They aren't fooling anybody."

Vaughn set up her shot, "Well, image is everything."

"Spoken like true blue blood." 

"Kind of hard to forget when they like to drill it into your mind every few hours or so," she replied. "The mantra of our lives."

He gestured around the common room. "At least it makes us appreciate our freedom more. Of course, coming to Yale was decided as soon as I was born but if you don't think about it, it's quite nice to be on your own." 

"It's still in their limits that they set for us, but damn its good to have them leave you alone as long as you're discreet about screwing up."

He grinned. "You took the words right out of my mouth." He could relate to Vaughn; they seemed to have similar wavelengths and backgrounds. He hadn't done this in awhile but he thought, what the hell? "Vaughn, would you like to go out to dinner or something with me sometime?" 

"Only if you take me some place trashy," Vaughn told him as she hit the ball, and then grinned at him. "The answer is yes, actually, regardless. Just stating my preference early on."

Oh yeah, it was a going to be a fun night. He hadn't had that in a long time. "I promise to take you some place trashy…_right _before I splurge on some place very nice. Deal?" He lifted his brow expectantly. 

"You won't hear me complaining," Vaughn replied. A nice place, a trashy place, and a cute guy in one evening? That was nearly automatic happiness for her.

"Six o'clock, Friday night?"

"Sounds great."

~*~ 

Rory and Jess. Once whole, now split. Rory reached over and fingered the photo that her mother had taken of them in early spring, she had done that so often after he had left that the corner was beginning to curl. It was hard not to think of him when she was reading. Not only because they had shared the same passion for it, but also because he had written the margin in all of her favorite books. She had thought her Sylvia Plath books would be safe, she sighed, and they weren't. Rory diverted her attention away from her bulletin board; she really needed to take down the pictures that included Jess, by closing her book. Now what to do? Thankfully the phone rang and helped her temporize making that decision.

"Hello, Vaughn and Rory's room."

"Hey."

Oh wow, did the Higher Being upstairs hate her or something? Or just have a twisted sense of humor? "Jess."

"Please, don't bother to hide your excitement."

Rory tugged on a strand of her hair. She didn't know how to feel, much less be excited about anything. "The marching band is running late. As well as the cymbal-playing monkeys."

"Glad to know you went to so much trouble." He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, running a hand through his hair. He was the one who called, it was up to him to try and make the conversation as civil as possible. It was still Rory. "So, how's the college thing going for you?"

"Like school but, um, bigger," Rory replied, wincing at how retarded she sounded. He wanted normal? She could do normal, she was sure of that. "How's the, uh, Dad thing going for you?" Gee, could she be any more insensitive? What if Jess wasn't ready for such conversation or if he wasn't getting alo...right, she was worrying too much. Time to stop.

He grinned. That tone of her voice was familiar, the nervousness was so comforting. He could imagine her sitting there, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth. "Like it was with Mom but with slightly better communication."

Rory's teeth released her lip, "Well that's good. I mean I'm not really sure how your relationship was with your mom..." Because he had never shared it with her, but no need to rehash old argument. "But it's good. Right?"

"It's good," he confirmed and then stressed on his next words, hoping to explain something to her without getting into a fight over the phone when they were miles apart. "It was something I needed to do, I figure." 

"I know," she replied quietly. And she understood, she really did. And she hoped that Jess got out of this what he wanted, he deserved it. But still Rory couldn't help but think it was unfair. Really unfair.

He cleared his throat, a little overwhelmed. He had agonized over this call more than he had the one he had made to his mother. Talking with Liz was a walk in the park compared to this conversation. "Are you and your roommate best buddies, yet?" 

"We're getting there," she answered. "Vaughn seems pretty cool so far. No secret weird fetishes uncovered yet."

"Check under her bed to make sure." He chose his next words carefully, not knowing how they would be received, if they were pre-emptive. "Would it be okay if I came to visit sometime soon. My dad and I are planning a road trip. A bonding thing. I'd like to see you." 

Um, wow. "When?" Rory asked warily, because the truth was that she wanted to see him. She just didn't know if soon was a good option.

Okay, so it obviously wasn't the right time. Damage control. "We're still working out the kinks. I'll get back to you on it. I guess I just wanted to know if it was okay."

"It's okay," Rory assured him, resorting to twisting a strand of her hair. "As long as there is warning. Because it'd be bad for you to travel all this way and not have a hotel to sleep at. Or something like that."

"I just want to see you," he said sincerely. There was a pause, he heard some shuffling but she didn't answer. He sighed. "What are you reading?"

"_The Bell Jar_," she answered, opening up back to where she had currently reading, and looking down at the margins. "Huh, I don't think Plath would appreciate the comments you made regarding Buddy."

"I speak nothing if not the truth." This was good. Getting back into their old routine was both healing and painful. Maybe that's what they both needed because it was real.

"I miss you," Rory blurted out, the words pushing forth through her lips as if they'd been waiting there for a while and watching for the right moment to come out. And it was the right moment, because she felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her.

He was relieved. Some part of him believed that she didn't. "I miss you, too."

~*~ 

"Nicholas," Cole greeted his brother right outside the dorm, surprised. It was very rare that the eldest Montgomery child would drop in on his younger siblings. Unless there was a family emergency or crisis. Nick was always there when you needed him, never when you wanted. "What brings you by?" 

"I decided to see what I missed out on by going to Princeton instead of Yale," Nicholas shrugged. What did it matter? He did what he did on a whim. "How is Yale?"

Although he was suspicious of his brother's motives, Cole simply smiled. "It got me out of that mansion."

"And that's all that matters, right?" Nick asked, watching a female passerby. Not bad.

"You know it," he answered as the two brothers descended the steps. "Seriously, is there a particular reason you're here or am I to buy your earlier explanation?" 

"No particular reason unless you want to count the one where I left the house because our dear sister was in trouble and she has that annoying habit of projecting our parents' anger onto me," Nick answered.

"Can't say you don't ask for it." One of the many things Cole was glad to be away from was Nick and Ronnie's disagreements and screaming matches.

"Nothing that could ever be proven," Nick reminded him as his gaze wandered and found an almost-red head. What was that called again? Right, strawberry blonde. Nice. Very nice. "She looks familiar," he tilted his head, as if that'd give him a better view. "But I'd hate to think I'd forget someone like that."

Cole followed his brother's line of vision and groaned. Someone up there was making him pay. "Once she opens that mouth, you'll be wishing you did."

"You know her?"

"You do too." She chose that moment to turn around and Cole turned to his brother, looking for some kind of reaction. Nick's face was blank. "That's Schuyler."

"No, it's not," Nick replied automatically. Schuyler Claymore was a bright haired, freckled midget that was forever following her brother around. Or beating up Cole. Heh. Schuyler was not curvy in a sexy sort of way. She was an almost nuisance.

"In a perfect world, yes it's not. In reality? Very much possible." 

"Leo always leaves out the important stuff then when I talk to him," Nick mused aloud as she walked toward them.

He wondered if they could just turn and leave, pretending they never saw her. But he recognized that gleam in his brother's eyes. Damn it. He smiled tightly as Schuyler came to stand in front of them, grinning wildly at Nick. 

"Nicky!" She greeted him, happy to see him. The one Montgomery she didn't feel the urge to throttle. "Has your life gotten so bad that you needed to see Cole for something to do?"

Nick laughed; he had forgotten how much Schuyler and Cole didn't get along. "Something like that."

"Don't you just feel the brotherly love?" Cole mumbled to no one in particular.

 Nick ignored his brother, focusing on Schuyler instead. A much more adorable vision anyway. "Wow, it's been...how long again?"

"Six years," Vaughn replied. 

"And you were at that convent place."

"Unfortunately, the nuns got tired of her." She could test the patience of a saint.

"That's the nun's loss," Nick pointed out, "and Yale's gain."

Vaughn giggled despite herself, because she knew when she was getting played. But still flirting with a one-time childhood crush could be fun. "Well Montgomery's presence sort of evens it out."

Cole gave her a withering glare. "We'd love to stay a chat, Schuyler, we really would. But I have a class early in the morning so my brother and I really need to get going." 

Nick didn't see what that had to do with him, "Act--"

"It's okay," Vaughn told him, before he could complete a word. "I have a class tomorrow too. Bye Nicky."

He watched her walk away and then turned to Nicholas who was openly staring at her swish of her hips and behind in her tight jeans. Cole hit him on the arm. "You are so transparent. It's sick." 

"Don't tell me you're immune to that because of some sort of grudge you two hold against each other because of what happened six years ago," Nick argued with him. "Who knew little Vaughnie would grow up to have such great abs."

"You are a twisted man, _Nicky_." Cole emphasized his brother's name and fluttered his lashes. Then he grinned and glanced at Schuyler who was too far but unmistakable with that shade of hair. "I never said anything about immunity. I just said you were sick."

"You're just as sick, bro."

Cole couldn't dispute that. "I know. We're related. Unfortunately. So you coming to dinner or not?" 

Nick shrugged; he was always up for food. "May as well."

"You're paying."


	6. Chapter 6: But I roll with change is all

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

Chapter 6: But I roll with the change is all

Surprises seemed to be Christopher Hayden's forte over the past eighteen years of Rory's life, so what was one more? Sherri and Georgia were off visiting his mother-in-law, and he had convinced Sherri that it was a good idea for him to visit Rory at college. Hopefully she was in; well there were only a few more moments to see if she was. He knocked on the door.

Lorelai stopped in the middle of her play-by-play recap of the fight that broke out between Taylor and Luke at the town meeting, frowning at being interrupted. Damn, she was getting to the good part. "Are you expecting company?"

Rory shook her head and crossed the room to open the door. Her father was smiling widely on the other side. "Dad!" 

She got off the bed and went to greet him, hiding her surprise. She had wondered when and if he was planning on visiting his first daughter at college. He had been so wrapped up in Sherry and Gigi that she was starting to believe that soon Rory would become less important. And her, by extension. "Hello Christopher."

This was a little awkward, but they could work around it. They had to. "So how is it? Tell me all about college."

He watched as his daughter's face lit up, "Oh it's great. Actually, you should meet my roommate, but Vaughn's not here right now. She's at some medieval lecture about feudalism or whatever. But my classes have been great." Rory stopped to take a breath. "How's Georgia?"

"Georgia's great, growing like a weed," Chris replied. "Next time I'll bring her, or you could visit us on one of your breaks."

"That sounds great," Rory replied.

"So am I interrupting anything?" Chris asked, the question directed mainly at Lorelai.

She smiled, trying to sound cheerful. She thought it would be easier to see him now, after so long. "Of course not. I was just filling Rory in on the weekly on-goings of Stars Hollow. You know, the usual. We're just surprised to see you."

"Well it's a good thing that a surprise visit lives up to its name," Christopher told her, forcing out a semblance of a real smile that wasn't awkward.

She really thought that they were over the heartache, that she was healing from their latest doomed attempt at a family. Rory was shifting her gaze between the two of them, obviously feeling the tension. She smiled cheerfully, willing away the feeling that had settled over her heart. For Rory's sake. Hadn't that always been her motto? "Well, isn't this great?"

"Wonderful," Chris muttered.

Rory shifted uncomfortably. "There's a Starbucks right by here, should we go there?"

Yes, coffee. Coffee is good. Maybe it would dispel the awkwardness. They were still family, even if it was in the unconventional sense. He was still Christopher. She smiled genuinely at her daughter and then at him, conveying her peace offering through with her eyes. "Coffee. Sounds perfect. Right Chris?" 

"Sounds great," Chris said, stepping back and opening the door to allow them to leave first.

She mocked him as she stepped outside. "Uh, thank you kind sir." 

"You're welcome, mi'ladies," he returned.

Rory giggled as she passed him. "Far too dramatic."

"Ah, but that's Christopher's specialty," Lorelai said with a mischievous smile as the three of them made their way down the hallway. "He has quite the talent for the drama. Did I ever tell you about the time he was suckered into volunteering for our school's production of _Our Town_?"

"No," Rory looked back at her father.

"What your mother means to leave out is the reason why," Chris added. "And I believe that reason was because a certain mother of yours didn't want to stand in close proximity to Jonathon Free the III, and persuaded me to take his place."

Lorelai glared at him indignantly. "Uh, no!" 

"I believe your parents have pictures of you crying very prettily on stage," Chris reminded her. 

"Really? I'll have to ask to see them next I see Grandma and Grandpa," Rory commented out loud.

"Not if I get to them first," she informed Rory as they reached the Starbucks. "It's a good thing Starbucks is so close by. It's not like Luke's coffee but hey, at least you're getting the recommended dosage." 

"You'd be surprised, it seems as if I run into everyone I've already met at Yale every time I come in," Rory told her mother. Tristan, Vaughn and Cole, at least. But that was currently the size of her social circle.

"My daughter ladies and gentlemen," Lorelai stated proudly. "The social butterfly. It looks as if that ridiculous coming out celebration came in handy."

"Well it's only three," Rory pointed out. "And one's my roommate, does that count?"

Chris shrugged. "A person is a person."

"It's good that you know some people. So who are the other two?" Lorelai asked, as they stood in line. 

"Well one is Cole, and it turns out that he and Vaughn actually know each other," Rory replied. "Though the liking each other part isn't included in that package. And the second is Tristan."

"Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Um, because you're a really big fan of the King Arthur tales?" Rory ventured.

"Funny girl." Lorelai thought for a minute. "Oh, I know! The kid who got shipped off to military school! The prankster. He goes here?"

"You hang out with a prankster?" Chris asked, "You mischievous sprite, you."

"Yes, he goes here," Rory answered her mother, and then turned to her father. "He's not actually really a prankster."

"Oh no?" Lorelai stated surprise and looked at Christopher. "He could make your senior prank look lame. Oh wait, yours really was."

He ignored the last part, "What'd this Tristan kid do?"

As Rory launched into detail of Tristan's prank, Lorelai placed their orders. When she turned around, a dark-haired guy was staring curiously at Rory, a slight smile on his face. She narrowed her eyes at him and he seemed to sense that as he looked up at her. His half-smile turned into a full-fledged grin and he started to walk over. Shocked, Lorelai tugged on Rory's sleeve. "Uh, sweetie. Someone's coming this way."

"Yeah, that's, uh, Cole," Rory informed her. "I mentioned him earlier."

"Hey Rory," he said as he approached her and the two people who he assumed were her parents. "I wasn't sure if it was you and then I was frightened to approach."

His last remark was directed at Lorelai. She gave him a pointed look. She knew his type – they were smooth and charming. "Smart kid."

"Yeah, with brains like that you could get into Yale," Rory pointed out cheekily.

He shrugged. "What can I say? I'm blessed." He extended his hand in Lorelai's direction, offering her a smile. "Cole Montgomery, ma'am."

"Lorelai Gilmore," she answered, taking his hands in her. He looked so harmless when he smiled. She wondered if Rory had noticed. "Rory tells us you befriended her. You're are smart and brave." 

"And I," Christopher spoke up, "am Christopher Hayden."

"Yes, my father," Rory finished the introduction.

Well, he could have sworn that Rory's parents looked happy in each other's company. The three of them looked like they were a tight family. Appearances, he realized. Could be deceiving. He smiled pleasantly. "Rory, have you given them the grand tour?" 

"Of Starbucks?" Rory asked. 

"We don't need one of those," Lorelai answered, grinning. "I think he meant of Yale, sweetie." 

"I most certainly did." Cole confirmed and then pointed at the line that was forming behind them. "We should probably move out of they way too. Angry, decaffeinated mobs are not our friends."

"Right," Rory agreed, searching for a table. "We'll move it on over left a few paces."

"I have a table," Cole said as he indicated the one near the window and gave Rory a knowing grin. "I think that's our table."

Lorelai's eyes narrowed in the boy's direction. He obviously had no qualms about flirting with a girl in front of her parents. She leaned into Christopher as they made their way to the table. "Our table? Does the kid think he's in some romance novel?"

"I was thinking more a teen drama," Chris replied, "but, yes, both work."

She stopped on her way to the table and looked at him indignantly. "He's hitting on her in front of us!"

"Yes, I realize that, but unless he starts ravishing her I don't think Starbuck's will find it justified for me to bodily remove him," Chris reminded her. "Unless you'd like to ask him politely to leave."

She shook her head, sighed and took a sip of her coffee. 

"Why are your parents still standing?" Cole leaned across the table, brows furrowed together.

Rory shrugged, "Because they're plotting ways to kill you, and if they sat down and talked about it. Well, that'd kind of ruin the surprise."

He let out a laugh at the ridiculous notion. "What do they think I did?" 

"They don't need a sane, rational reason like most," Rory explained. "I think sometimes they just like to plot out the murders of people they randomly meet."

"That's comforting to know."

Lorelai poked Christopher in the ribs. "Look at him, he's all chatty with her, leaning across the table and smiling like that. Rory doesn't even realize it because well, she's Rory. He probably knows all about Jess and is thinking that it's the perfect time to sweep her off her feet. Manipulative jerk."

"Ow. And he could just like her, Lor," Chris pointed out. "No hidden agenda."

She conceded. He could just like her. After all, Rory was very likable. "Okay, maybe you're right. She's still not over Jess. I don't want her to - "

"Get hurt again," Chris finished for her. "Now let's go sit down like good parents before we scare them both with our standing."

"I hope everything is okay," Cole said to Rory's parents as they sat down at the table.

Lorelai smiled cheerily. "Just great. So, Cole, where are you from?"

~*~ 

Rory was proud of herself. Her first week of college was officially over. It was Friday night and she had made it through first day of classes throughout the whole week without any major setbacks or panic attacks. Her room was comfortable and nice, her roommate was cool and accommodating and she had seemed to make friend very easily. Unlike Chilton, people at college seemed a lot more open minded. She looked at the clock on her side table and turned to her roommate who was sifting through clothes. "Hey, Vaughn?" 

Vaughn looked up from her clothes drawer, "Yeah?"

"How would you rate this first week of college? I mean, for you." 

"Well if we're not going by numbers, than I'd have to say a hell of a lot better than Catholic school."

Rory laughed. "Yeah, this is infinitely better than Chilton. I don't want to jinx it but I think this year is going to be great. I always thought I'd be scared, a little apprehensive when college started even though I had waited for this for as long as I can remember."

"But then you get here, and it's so much better than you thought it'd be," Vaughn added. "You realize the people you've been around for years and years, well you get tired of them. Then you get to college and everything's just greener. New people, new places, newfound freedom. I'm big on this freedom thing, if you hadn't been able to tell."

"Really? I had no idea," she joked and pulled her hair into a ponytail. "I know what you mean, though. I never thought that I'd be so comfortable somewhere that wasn't Stars Hollow. I mean, I miss my mom but I like missing her. Does that make sense?" 

"I understand the concept, but don't feel anything remotely like it," unless you counted the fact that she hoped she never saw her mother again. "I thought I wanted to go to school outside of Connecticut, after spending so many years in Greenwich, but it's not so bad now that I'm here."

Rory sighed, content. "You missed meeting my dad, today." 

"Really? What's he like?"

She pulled out a picture from her drawer in her side table and handed it to Vaughn. "See for yourself. That's us at my graduation." 

Vaughn momentarily gave up her search and looked at it. "Nice." She looked up, "er, I mean he looks like a nice guy."

She laughed again, used to that reaction from women. "What are you looking for?"

"Well, something nice. But not so much," Vaughn pulled out a pair of pants and held them out. "Now does leather work with nice and trashy, or are they just mostly trashy?"

"I think you can pull it off for both," she replied and sat down on her bed, curling her legs up on it. "Where are you going that requires that kind of attire?" 

"Not sure," Vaughn replied, tossing the leather pants onto her bed before looking for a shirt. "Well, a date. But no clue where I'm going."

"You're in school for a week and you have a date," Rory said with a grin. "Of course, I'm not surprised. So, do I know him?" 

"Quite well," Vaughn answered. "It's Tristan. Short sleeves or long?"

She blinked in surprise, almost missing the name. "Tristan? And long."

"As in DuGrey, not of Lyonesse, in case you were confused," Vaughn teased, looking through her long sleeved shirt. "Color?" 

"Powder blue," she answered automatically and then crossed her arms over her chest. "So, is this, um a recent development? I mean, I didn't know you liked him in that way." 

Vaughn dug out her powder blue peasant blouse, "Few days ago. When I left here you were reading Plath. It happened in the common room."

"Oh," Rory replied, trying not to think of Jess' phone call. She smiled brightly at her roommate. "I hear he's very smooth on dates. You definitely don't fit the bill for the type of girls he used to date at Chilton. But it's been awhile so I wouldn't know." 

"Smooth can be fun," Vaughn pointed out as she changed shirts. "But I've already hung out with Tristan, so I already know the evening won't exactly be boring."

Rory nodded, shifting on the bed. "Not boring at all. Do you think there'll be more dates?" 

Vaughn shrugged, "I can't say until I go on this one." She frowned at the pants; she always hated the whole process of actually getting into leather pants.

"You want some help?" 

"With the pants?" Vaughn shook her head, "nah, I learned a trick back in boarding school to help get them on easier. Though you could do me a favor and go over to the top drawer and get out my hair straightening supplies."

Rory looked at her horrified. "You're getting rid of the curls?" 

"For tonight, yes."

She walked over to Vaughn's drawer to get the supplies. "I'll miss them. It's almost a crime." 

Vaughn laughed as she wiggled into the pants, "They'll be back tomorrow."


	7. Chapter 7: I hang on everything about yo...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

Chapter 7:  I hang on everything about you

There were very few things in the world that managed to surprise Cole Montgomery. They were abstract things mostly, like why Iceland was green and Greenland was covered in ice. Or how Veronica seemed to have a knack for saying the worst things at the worst time. The most recent surprise was the fact that his roommate had asked Schuyler Vaughn out on a date. Willingly. "You asked her out?"

"For the millionth time, yes." Tristan searched for his wallet. "Is that so hard to believe, Montgomery?"

He frowned and leaned back in his chair. "As a matter of fact, yes." 

"Get over it. She'll be here in a minute." 

Vaughn tugged on a strand of her hair and released it, just to watch it not bounce. She didn't care how many people said it was a crime for her to get rid of the curls, she loved her hair straight. Almost transformed her into a different person. Plus it was a lot easier to pull the top of your hair into a barrette, like she had to done tonight. Now that she had ensured her hair would not curl until the next time she showered, she stepped up to the door, and knocked.

"Why is she picking you up anyway?" Cole asked as Tristan went to open the door. Because he was curious to see how Schuyler dressed for a date, he followed. 

"It's the new millennium." He opened the door and found Vaughn smiling a little anxiously, her hair straightened and her legs encased in leather. "Wow."

"That better be for me and not my lack of curls," Vaughn warned him teasingly.

"It was for both." He grinned and turned to his roommate, who was staring at Vaughn as if she was a figment of his imagination, his lips parted slightly. "Cole?"

Here it was - surprise number two of the day. Schuyler Vaughn. In leather. He blinked twice and shook his head, looking away from Claymore and at Tristan. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"No, he's Cole. He'll never be okay," Vaughn informed Tristan, "Are we ready?"

"I am and you definitely look like you're ready to have some fun," he answered. He turned to Cole once again and smiled. "Don't wait up for me, buddy."

"Wasn't planning on it," he replied and then nodded in Schuyler's direction. He needed to say something to remind himself how annoying she was, regardless of her attire. "Watch out for that one. She bites."

"Not unless provoked," she promised Tristan. "Or if you want me to. I can be quite indulging sometimes."

Okay, that was enough. Cole shoved Tristan out of the door and started to close the door. "The two of you are making me sick. Have fun."

When the door slammed on his face, Tristan turned to Vaughn. "Has he always been like this?"

Vaughn shook her head and tried to stifle a laugh. "No, he used to be worse."

The two exited the dorm room and Tristan gave her another once over, still a little stunned seeing her like that. "I understand where it came from, you know." 

"That he was born an asshole?" Vaughn questioned as they stepped out into the parking lot, and followed Tristan to his car. A silver Mercedes Convertible. Wow, that was nice. "Oh, I wanted one of these. I had to settle for a BMW instead."

Tristan opened the passenger side door and smiled. "She's my baby. And I meant that I understand why Cole was acting the way he did. You look incredible." 

She grinned at him before slipping into the passenger seat. "Thank you." Vaughn settled into the seat, screw paradise, this is where she wanted to be. "So did you name her?"

"Isolde." He smiled, shut the door and walked over to the driver's side. When he slipped in, she was grinning widely. "What?"

"Nothing." She buckled her seat belt. "I just think you're a romantic, Tristan DuGrey."

He turned the key in the ignition and backed out of the parking space. "That's the first time anyone has ever called me that. I'll take what I can get, though." 

"Well then I guess I must be the first person to hear that you named your car after your namesake's true love," Vaughn giggled, though she had attempted to stifle it. "I love it."

"It's surprising that you know the legend, I only know it because I was curious about my name." He pulled out of the campus and onto the main road. "I reckon you read a lot, then." 

"Some, but I love mythology," Vaughn replied with a sigh, really she needed to stop before she got dorky. "Tell me, did your mother name you Tristan because of the sorrow she went through? Are you really supposed to be a Mark?"

He grinned. "Oh no, that's just too commonplace for a DuGrey." 

"Of course, why I didn't think of that is beyond me," Vaughn did an exaggerated hair flip. "After all my brother is only named after the greatest artist that ever lived, and I am named after a Vice President. I should know better by now."

"But then again, Jane just doesn't suit you."

"God no," Vaughn agreed. "Had I been named that, I would have jazzed it up myself."

His forehead creased as the car sped down the highway. He hoped the direction Cole gave him were accurate. "How many ways are there to jazz up Jane?"

"Well you just gave me that name, it'd take a moment or two to figure something out," she replied, "And what's my middle name? A middle name can be very crucial in these situations."

"Jane Ellen," he answered automatically. She lifted her eyebrow curiously at his speedy reply. He shrugged, smirking a little when he replied, "girl I knew."

Vaughn shifted in her seat, so she could face him more. "Well then if I were to go with the middle name, I could go with Ellie. Which, is a name I love by the way. Or if worse came to worse, just be called Clay, which would be derived from my last name."

"Vaughn suits you better." He smiled meaningfully. "It's prettier." 

She smiled at him. "Thank you. And Tristan suits you well too, minus the whole definition of it." She paused. "I'm not good at the whole complimenting thing."

He glanced at her briefly as the exit he was supposed to take inched closer. "You're fine. Well his singing may be mind-numbing, but Cole's sense of direction is great."

"It's because everyone keeps telling him to go away," Vaughn explained. "When he does, he needs to go somewhere, and Bam! A whole new world."

He chuckled. "Why is there so much bad blood between the two of you?"

Vaughn sighed, "It's such a cliché, I'm sure you don't want to hear it."

He nodded as he left the off ramp and maneuvered the car through a particularly long U-turn. "It's okay. You don't have to share. I'm sure it's personal."  

She shrugged. "It's not actually between us. So it's not, like, personal to me."

"Oh. Then, I don't get it. You haven't seen him in ages." 

"Six years," Vaughn stated. "Well six years ago, my mother and his father had this, um, thing. And my dad sort of found out, and then we all sort of found out. And then the divorce sort of happened, and I sort of got sent to Boarding School. Catholic boarding school."

"So the tension between your families hasn't settled? Are you uncomfortable around him?" Tristan pulled into the parking lot of restaurant Cole had recommended. He hoped she liked Italian. 

"It's not really that. But that's the part I don't like to get into," Nope, because it brought back that feeling of betrayal. Vaughn crossed her arms over her chest. "Ooh. Italian."

He sighed with relief, turned off the ignition and turned to her with a smile. "Well, no more bad memories. Tonight, we celebrate out first pseudo-successful week at Yale."

"I am so for that," she replied, trying to regain her earlier, happier mood. "And also looking for away to fill my hungry stomach."

~*~ 

Her mother would be so disappointed in her. Sure, Rory had left her room. But instead of being in her room, reading a book, she sat in the common room, reading a book. But still, it was a Friday and she was doing nothing. She could almost hear her mother's voice. But really- what was there to do? Her only female friend was with one of her only male friends at Yale. So that didn't leave her many options to go out and do something. So she'd have to be content with herself, and Holly Golightly.

"I'm disappointed in you, Rory Gilmore." 

"Wow, it's amazing how my mother's voice in my head has suddenly turned into Cole Montgomery's," Rory looked up from her book and at Cole, who was standing before her. "And amazingly, they're saying the same thing."

He sat down next to her and wagged a finger at her. "That's probably because we're right. It's a Friday night and you're sitting by yourself reading. Now tell me, there has to be some miniscule part of you that dying to party, right?"

"Oh yeah, I'm doing a little dance inside right now," she replied dryly.

He made a clucking sound with his tongue. "Sarcasm, Gilmore, does not solve anything."

"It provides me with great amusement," Rory countered.

"So does Charlie Chaplin." He moved closer and slung an arm around her shoulder, hoping she wasn't one of those girls who jumped at the slightest touch. "There are so many things that we can do with our time, you know."

She nodded, "Right. I could be watching the movie instead of reading the book."

He shook his head. Okay, so he was going to have to be more blatant. "Or you could do something with me." 

"You mean I'm not right now?" Rory teased.

He grinned, letting his arm rest lightly on her shoulder. "That you are. And see how much fun we're having? I was thinking more a long the lines of dinner and a movie. Maybe some dancing. A proper date." 

A date? Like one of those things she hadn't had since Jess and her broke up. Was she ready for that? Her mother kept pushing her to think that it was time to move on. And she liked Cole; he was fun to be around. And it'd get her out doing something, other than reading Jess's handwriting in the margins. She was getting pathetic. "All right. I think I may just let you do that."

He hadn't missed the hesitation that had passed over her face but let it go. She had agreed. He wasn't losing his touch after all. "Great. How does tomorrow sound?" 

"Tomorrow sounds like it could work."

He nodded and leaned back against the sofa as she returned to her book. "So...um, Tristan and Vaughn. Didn't see that coming." 

"Me either," Rory answered, putting her book down on the table in front of them. "She just doesn't seem like his type."

He snorted, resting his elbows on his knees. "She doesn't seem like anyone's type. Unless you have a high threshold for pain. Tell me, is Tristan a masochist?"

"Not that I know of," Rory wasn't really interested in that part though. "Why are you two so insulting of each other?"

" Family stuff." Cole shifted uncomfortably as she turned to face him fully. It was hard to pinpoint the exact reason Schuyler hated him but if he had to guess, he'd say it was after her parents divorced. They had always fought as children but it was natural; they were both hardheaded. But the ice between them was something he didn't quite understand. He told himself that he didn't care. "Not a big deal." 

"Oh. I understand, I think."

He figured that he needed to clarify. "My father slept with her mother." 

"Oh, wow," Rory's mouth was still open, but she didn't really notice. "Wow."

"That pretty much sums it up. Worst part is, my parents didn't divorce after my mother found out, like Schuyler's did." Maybe that's why she resented him. 

"Still, wow. When was this?" It was probably rude and intrusive to ask, but her curious nature got the best of her.

"Six years ago. The Claymores shipped her off to that Catholic school and I went away to Browning. The rest, as they say, is history. We used to be friends. Kind of."

That explained a lot. "I can't imagine that."

He laughed a little. "I've pretty much blocked it out too." Time to change the subject. "So you and Tristan had a rough start, I hear."

"Yeah, you might be surprised to learn that calling a girl Mary, after the Virgin Mary I might add," Rory replied, "Not a turn on."

"I'll bet. But now, you're okay?" 

"With Tristan?" Rory asked. "Sure. Not one Mary since I've seen him again."

"Give him time." 

"No, he's matured since I last saw him," Rory told him, "I think his Mary days are over."

Cole looked at his watch. "Have you had dinner yet?" 

Rory shook her head, "You offering?"

"Of course," he replied as he stood up and offered his hand. "I'd never pass up an opportunity to have dinner with a beautiful woman. This can be our pre-date."


	8. Chapter 8: I've been guessing, I coulda ...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

Chapter 8: I've been guessing - I coulda been guessin' wrong

Rory doubted that she had done this much dancing since the marathon in Stars Hollow. So it wasn't surprising to learn that she had forgotten how much fun it was. Especially when it was with someone that knew how to dance. But, seriously, it was draining to dance for a long period time.

"Can we take a break?" Rory asked, raising her voice against the music. "For something to drink?"

Cole was about to reel her out for another exaggerated twirl but then smiled at her request and nodded. He hadn't realized he was thirsty until he mentioned it. Rory was pretty light on her feet and he was having a blast dancing with her. He started to lead her off the dance floor. "Of course." 

"I sometimes find it amazing that I once danced for nearly twenty four hours straight," Rory told him with a sigh. "Have I grown so old in the past year?"

He grinned as they squashed between people to get to the bar. "You're just dancing with someone that is exceptionally wonderful when it comes to dancing. It's hard to keep up." She slapped him lightly on the arm and he chuckled. "What's your poison?"

"Coke is fine," she answered.

He ordered two Cokes and then located two stools that had just been vacated. They sat down, leaning in closer to hear each other over the music and chatter. "So you once participated in a dance marathon? This town of your sounds…"

"Insane," Rory finished for him with a smile. "It is, but I love it."

The Cokes came and they both took a greedy sip. "Then you must really hate New Haven."

"Actually I haven't seen enough of New Haven to judge whether or not I hate it," Rory reflected. "But what I've seen of it, I like."

"Did you always want to go to Yale?"  
  


She shook her head, a small smile on her face as she remembered the decision making process. "No, actually from the time I was three until very recently I was set on going to Harvard."

"I can't picture you living in Boston. Do you know anyone there?" 

"My dad, actually," Rory answered. It was still weird to think of him living so close. "And a friend from school, Paris. She goes to Harvard." She paused and fidgeted. "And my boy-, my ex-boyfriend lives there now."

Ah. He took a sip of his drink again. That's why she had hesitated when he asked her out. He hoped it wasn't complicated. He wasn't good with handling complicated relationships. Case in point? The one with his parents. "I see." 

"I'm sorry," Rory apologized. "I tried to leave my baggage with Jess back in Stars Hollow. But it's not really staying put. I'll push it back."

"Don't apologize," he stated with a smile. "It's not like I don't have baggage of my own. What? Did you think that I thought you didn't have any ex-boyfriends?" 

She purposefully widened her eyes, "Don't tell me this conversation is going to lead to you telling me that you've had girlfriends."

He knew there was a reason he liked her so much. He grinned and leaned in closer, to whisper in her ear. "Don't tell anyone, but I've had quite a few. None of them compare to you, though." 

"I give that a 9 on the smoothness scale," Rory told him. "Very nicely executed, Cole."

He pulled back and smiled again. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually enjoyed having a _conversation_ with his date. "You ain't seen nothing yet. Wait until we get to the part where I say goodnight." 

"I'm beside myself with anticipation."

They finished their drink and returned to the dance floor just as a slow song started to play. Couples drew together as the lights dimmed a little. He looked at her tentatively, holding out his hand. 

She took it and allowed him to lead her back to the dance floor as Norah Jones crooned over the sound system. "This is a nice night, thanks Cole."

One hand rested on the small of her back and then other clasped her smaller one in his, their bodies touching lightly. He bent his head and smiled. "My pleasure." 

As soon as his lips touched her she realized one of two things, one, kissing Cole wasn't as nice as talking to him, and two, it would be a really bad idea to run away from this kiss. It was a habit her mother told her to break, and Rory found it to be rather good advice.

He wasn't exactly sure what was wrong with the kiss. Had it been the wrong time or was she not ready for it? Whatever the reason, kissing Rory was like kissing a cousin. It was too lukewarm. Too…forced. He broke away and looked down at her face to see her reaction. When he couldn't tell what she was thinking, he asked, "Do you want to get out of here?" Maybe they needed to try again, some place less crowded. 

"Um, sure." The dance floor suddenly seemed too crowded, and leaving would help fill her desire to run.

Once outside, her turned to her abruptly, surprising her. That kiss had thrown him - and not in a good way. He caught her by her arms and leaned in to kiss her again saying, "I just need to check something."

It was disappointing to her to learn that it wasn't much more warm-and-fuzzy feeling on the second try.

As he dragged his lips away again, he swore softly. "Is it me or was that a really bad kiss?"

"Not really bad…just not really good," Rory said, cringing as she said it. "I'm sorry."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Don't worry about it. The only thing that's hurt is my ego. I must really be getting bad at this."

"I'm sure it's just both of us." No need to place blame on it. Some things just weren't meant to be.

He must've sounded like he was whining. He shrugged, pocketing his hands. He had never been so wrong about his attraction to a girl before. It was just weird. "I guess I just like…being your friend." Wow, that was a new concept.

She smiled, something they could agree on. "I like being your friend too, Cole."

Now that that was settled, he slung his arm around her shoulder and led her to the car. "So this is what it feels like to have a platonic relationship with a girl." 

~*~ 

Vaughn had never actually made out while listening to music before. Not that it was set up for this particular purpose, but still the experience was still sort of cool. It was almost like when you're dreaming and you can hear the music you fell asleep listening to playing in the background, and in some weird, wild way it becomes a part of it. Everything else just falls away.

It had been so long since Tristan had made out, so spontaneously, with someone that he had almost forgotten how exhilarating it could be. Lips melding, teeth nipping fingers touching and skin sliding over skin. It helped that Vaughn was a great kisser. He wondered where a Catholic school graduate had learned to do those things with her tongue. 

Touch was one of the most forbidden things at Saint Helene's. So, of course, it was something all the girls were itching to do. So there were secret meetings between the girls and the guys from the boarding school across town. Vaughn had actually participated in very few of these, but what she remembered now was that nothing to could beat the sensation of touch.

Her fingers were pressing softly against the material of his shirt as they lay on his bed and he knew she was debating on whether or not to slip them underneath. He tore his lips away from her and looked down into her smoky violet eyes. "Vaughn?"

Vaughn brought the world back into focus, or at least Tristan's blue eyes. "Hey."

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned. "You seem…I don't know - "

"Yeah, I'm okay," She licked her lips. "Are you…okay?"

He nodded and lifted his head off the pillow, trying to get up. She got the idea and untangled her legs from his and they both sat up straight, smoothing their clothes and hair. She looked a little confused, he felt like he needed to explain. "I'm so - "

"This has got to be the weirdest night!" Cole muttered as he entered the room, cutting off Tristan's words. He slammed the door behind him and stalked to his desk, stopping when he spotted Tristan and Schuyler on his roommates' bed. "Oh." 

Vaughn ran a hand through her blonde curls. "Um, hi, Cole."

She was actually greeting him? He looked at his roommate and arch nemesis, rumpled clothes and swollen lips, and ignored the churning at the pit of his stomach. She must have been deprived of oxygen during her game of tonsil hockey. "Hey. Sorry to interrupt."

"My fault," Tristan said and he slid off the bed, trying to look collected for a guy with lipstick smudged on his lips. 

"Yeah," Vaughn picked up her denim jacket off the floor. "I have, like, this class on something medieval at seven." Cole was still in the doorway, blocking her exit. Well this was weird in the bad way. In the way that kind of made her want to run. "Bye, um, Tristan. Cole."

He moved out of her way and she flew out of there like she was late for class – which she couldn't be because it was Saturday. He looked at his roommate and sighed. "We really need to work out a system for that."

Tristan nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Oh yeah."

~*~ 

She wouldn't obsess. It didn't matter. Rory repeated that to herself as she pushed open the door of her dorm room after she had finished brushing her teeth. So what? She went out on a date. Jess had no hold over her now, not from so many miles away. And it wasn't like she and Cole had had the most perfect date ever. Then why the hell was she feeling so guilty?

Vaughn finished tying her hair in a ponytail before turning around to see Rory walking in. "Morning. You look like you're thinking too hard for this early in the morning."

"No, it's nothing. I just…" she trailed off, unable to form the words to explain. She sighed and rubbed her temple. "Cole and I went out last night."

"Oh," Vaughn replied flatly. That must have been where he had come from the night before. "Where'd Montgomery wine-and-dine you?"

She smiled briefly. It had been a fun night until that kiss. "We had dinner at a cute Mexican restaurant and then he took me dancing. It was nice." 

Vaughn really couldn't picture Cole dancing in any other way than that jumping around and wiggling thing he use to call dancing when they were nine. "I'm glad. For you."

Rory sat down on her bed and curled her legs underneath. "That sounds like you're congratulating me on getting married. I wouldn't go as far. In fact, we decided that was our first and only date."

That feeling inside kind of felt like relief, but that couldn't be right. "I'm sorry things didn't work out?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "We're both fine. When he kissed me, it was very…"

Vaughn wasn't sure she wanted to hear the end of this. "Gross?"

"No!" Rory protested not wanting to cast Cole in bad light. "It was like kissing a friend. He thought so too. So that's what we are – friends. He's a real nice guy but he's just not…Jess." Ugh, that guilt was emerging again. 

She leaned against the dresser. "I think you need to get Jess down here."

Rory's brows furrowed together. "He's coming."

"When?"

"He didn't say. Figures. He never has a plan."

Vaughn sighed. "Well, do you have his number?"

"I can get it from his uncle," she answered with a shrug. "I don't know if I should call. I mean he did say he was coming and I don't want him to think something of it or anything." She sighed and looked up at her friend. "I'm not making any sense, am I?"

"Not really," Vaughn tried for another angle. "What exactly did he say when he said he was coming?"

"He just asked if he could come see me. He's planning a trip with his father."

"See, he's waiting for you to give him the go ahead," she told her roommate. "So just call him and say 'hey- now would be a good time for you to come up.' If you want an excuse you can say you have less homework or something. I don't know."

Rory took that in. It made sense. "What would I do without you, Vaughn?"

"Mope and pine."

She threw her pillow at the blonde. "Well, what did you do Miss Sunshine?"

"At which time?" Vaughn asked. "After all, you know how terribly busy my schedule...isn't."

"Last night. What were you up to?"

"I hung out with Tristan in his dorm room," she replied. "You'd be surprised at how little there is to do around campus."

"Preaching to the choir. Small town girl, here. Although Stars Hollow was quirky enough with its festivals and tradi - " she trailed off when she realized she was rambling. "So, are you and Tristan getting serious?"

"Uh, haven't really talked about it," Vaughn shrugged. "So not really."

Rory frowned. She expected details. Maybe Vaughn wasn't as comfortable talking about her love life as Lane. "Oh." 

"Yeah," they went back to silence. "I was going to go check out the school gym. I don't know if you're into treadmills, and the like, or not."

Oh, she was definitely not into treadmills. Too much muscle straining. But she needed to get out of the room. "Hey, I'm game." 


	9. Chapter 9: I think there's still a piece...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

Chapter 9: I think there's still a piece of my heart on your face 

_Beyond The Pleasure Principle _by Sigmund Freud.Cole believed that they really hadn't gotten that far in his Intro to Psychology class. He was pretty sure that personally, he would never be ready to read anything by Freud. The man made absolutely no sense. Although certain female issues could be explained by his theories. He sighed and reached for it anyway, just to see what it was about. A smaller hand appeared from nowhere and reached for it at the same time and he turned abruptly to confront the impatient person, their hands clasped together around the binding. "Hey!" 

It was unfair for a person to get a book before based on the sheer fact that they were a foot taller than her. So maybe, just maybe sometimes Vaughn was a bit pushy when it came for reaching things. Still, she had never believed that fate would be so cruel to have the other person that was reaching for the same book as her, be Cole Montgomery. "I don't suppose you'll allow me to just have that book, will you?"

He tried not to think of her as the girl he had caught making out with his roommate but the annoying brat who had made his childhood, well, colorful. "Now what would be the fun in that, Schuyler?"

"It would make life a lot easier," Vaughn offered. Well, her life at least.

"I have to read this." He pretended to be serious; bugging her definitely brightened his day. He pursed his lips in mock regret and tugged the book out of her grasp. Then he gave her a once over, made her squirm. "Unless you're willing to pay the right price for it, Schuyler Vaughn."

"I'm willing to kick you where it counts," she offered, it was natural to slip out, and be inimical to Cole, which was funny because she was kind of in the mood where you wanted to get in and out as quick as possible. "Is that what you had in mind?"

He gave her a distasteful look and handed the book over. "You take all the fun out of making a pass, Claymore. I should have known." 

Vaughn hugged the book close to her chest, and set her disbelieving gaze on him. Right, like he meant that. "But it got me the book all the faster, didn't it?"

He didn't know she'd be so shocked by his proclamation. Interesting. "That's because I wasn't really going to read it anyway. The words 'beyond' and 'pleasure' just got to me." She gave him a withering glare but he ignored it and continued. "So, Killianski's neurotic, isn't he?"

She blinked at the subject change. Okay, she could be friendly. "Yes…but…" Vaughn stopped herself before she stuttered. "You are not in that class with me."

"That's what you would like to think, Schuyler." Before he could stop himself, his hand moved up to tug at the curl that had escaped the worm-like thing she had tied her hair with and rested softly against her cheek. "That shade of blonde is hard to miss." 

Every single thing within Vaughn froze, and she wasn't sure if she was more shocked at the gesture or the fact that she hadn't automatically stepped back. "Um, it's nothing spectacular. Just strawberry-blonde."

Maybe it was the proximity of their bodies or the slight whiff of that sweet perfume she wore, but he couldn't seem to let go of her hair or step back. Instead he wrapped the curl around his finger and looked right into her eyes. "I like it." 

Her eyes wouldn't leave Cole's. It was weird. It was almost preternatural. "It's just hair."

Right. It was just hair. He blinked as her hair uncurled from his finger. He stepped away at the same time she did and the awkwardness doubled. He cleared his throat, scratched the back of his neck and thought of something – _anything_ - to say. "So why are you reading that book anyway, Skye?" Ah, that old nickname she hated. Good one Cole, he thought.

Vaughn growled, she couldn't help it. There was something about that nickname she absolutely loathed. It may have had to do with the fact that her mother had spent her childhood fluttering about her, proclaiming how much 'prettier' it was than Schuyler. But it was time to get over that. "To familiarize myself with Freud. His stuff wasn't exactly available to me in high school."

"Freud spewed nonsense," he offered as they sat down at the table nearest to them. "Come on, Oedipus complex? I'm sorry, I don't want to sleep with my mom." 

"Why not? Not only does everyone else, but from what I hear they also act on it."

He clenched his fingers tightly, ignoring the anger. Schuyler knew how to push his buttons. That's what she's doing now, he reminded himself. "I think you have our mothers mixed up, Skye." 

Ouch, okay. Just another reminder on why she and Cole would never get along. They knew how to hurt each other far too well. Vaughn suddenly wanted to go home, lock herself in her room and stare at the wall for a few hours. Too bad she didn't have a home to go to. "I have to go." She stood back up, and took a few steps backwards. "I told Leo, I'd call him tonight."

He didn't want to make her leave but he surely wasn't going to ask her to stay. He nodded. "Tell him I said hi, will you?"

"Yeah, that'll happen," She'd like to say she walked calmly to the desk to take out the book. But it pretty much took all her control not to run. 

~*~ 

The dorm room was empty when Vaughn got back to it, and she as fond as she had grown of her roommate, she was quite happy about that. She had always felt odd about talking on the phone to someone when someone else was in the room. She sat on the bed and dialed her brother's phone number. 

"Damn it!" Leo said into the phone as he stubbed his toe against his daughter's empty playpen. 

"Glad to hear from you, too, Leo," Vaughn returned, her brother had never learned to control his emotions. It seemed to be something they had in common.

"Hey kiddo," he said, stumbling onto the couch and lifting up his toe to examine it. He hated it when he was alone at home and injured. "I bumped into Torie's playpen. Kaylee says I'm becoming accident prone." 

Vaughn twirled the cord around her finger. "She's not very observant then. I noticed it around the age of eight." She grabbed a pillow from behind her and put it on her lap. "How's Torie?"

"Growing way too fast. I swear she said 'Dada' the other day."

She smiled. "That's great, Leo. I miss you guys."

Leo leaned back against the sofa, flinging an arm over the back. "We miss you too, kiddo. So, how's college life treating you? Make any friends? Enemies? Meet any republicans?"

Leave it to her brother to ask as many questions as possible in less than five seconds. "Pretty good. Yes, a few. I get along with my roommate. Only an old one. And, enough for a lifetime."

Leo processed all that information, matching up all his questions with her answers and then frowning. "Who's the old enemy?"

"How many old enemies do I have?"

Realization hit and he let out a whoop of laughter. "Cole Montgomery goes to Yale, doesn't he?"

Vaughn sighed, she had forgotten about the more annoying traits of her older brother. "I'm not finding it very funny, Leo."

"You're not supposed to Vaughnie," he replied, using another one of her much-hated nicknames. He and Nicholas had teased her mercilessly with that one. "This is rich. So have the two of you tried to stay out of each others' way?"

Oh, how she wished. "If only we could. My roommate's befriended him; I've befriended his roommate. He's every-frickin'-where."

"He's not as bad as you want to believe he is, Schuyler Vaughn," Leo replied taking a tone with her that he knew she wouldn't like. "What happened was six years ago." 

Vaughn tugged on a curl. Right. "He's still an ass."

"You're the one being stubborn, sister dearest." 

She grinned. "This surprises you, dearest brother?"

He laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Not in the least. Try to be nice, kid. It might work wonders."

"I'll be nice when he's nice." And let's face it; he was almost as much to blame for their inimical relationship as she was.

"Fair enough." Leo glanced at the watch and realized it was time to pick Torie up from his in laws. "I gotta run, Vaughnie. Keep your nose clean, kid. And lay off the coffee." 

"All right, watch your feet," she warned her brother. "Bye Leo."

~*~ 

Tristan had every intention of going straight to the library to start research on the paper that was due next week, but he stopped as soon as he saw Rory sitting, with a look of extreme lassitude in her posture and in her face. He was always was prone to procrastination anyway. This was just fate's way of reminding him of it.

"Too tired to make it to the dorm?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

Rory summoned all her energy so that she could turn to face him but it felt like there was no part of her body that didn't ache. She belatedly remembered why her mother was so against exercise and sports. What ever made her think she could do all those push ups? She pouted. "I'm sore," she whined. 

Tristan couldn't stifle an amused smile. "What have you been up to?"

She really wanted to snap at him but she had brought this pain upon herself. She sighed dramatically. "I exercised." 

He took pity on her, and started to gently massage her shoulders. "Why would you do a silly thing like that?"

She leaned into him and closed her eyes, welcoming the relief. Oh, he was good. "Mm. I don't know. I think because my mother wasn't here to hit me upside the head. Vaughn is crazy." 

Tristan chuckled. "She's your roommate, you should know that by now."

His hands moved lower, between her shoulder blades. She almost moaned. "Where did you learn to do that? Wait! Don't answer that. I probably don't want to know." 

She didn't. "So what exercising madness did Vaughn drag you into?"

"She took me to the gym." Rory decided to leave out the part where she actually agreed to go along. Tristan didn't need to think she was a complete moron. 

"And you couldn't stop her from forcing you?" Tristan teased. "I mean you're only, what? A foot taller than her?"

She opened her mouth to retort but closed it again when she couldn't come up with anything. He continued to grin and work his magic on her lower back. "I was bored." 

"So you decided to see how close you could get to death without committing suicide?" Tristan had forgotten how much fun it was to tease Rory Gilmore; he was half tempted to add a 'Mary' in there. But he had better restraint now then he did when he was sixteen.

He was teasing her; she knew it. She'd forgotten how easily he could get under her skin. "When you say it like that, it sounds silly. But at the time, it sounded pretty healthy because you know, exercise is supposed to be good for you."

"Yes, but beginners are suppose to start off slow."

"I know that!" she cried as his hands stopped their ministrations and rested on her shoulders again. "Could we stop picking on me, now?"

"That depends, how bad of shape is Vaughn in?" When she turned and glared at him, he decided to stop. "You want some ice cream?"

She took that as a peace offering and smiled widely. "Always!" 

Tristan stood up and held out his had. "Come on then, there's a Ben and Jerry's around here."

She accepted, wincing a little as she stood up. "I never thought I'd say this but I should have listened to my mother. I'm just not built for some things." 

What she was built for, he'd rather not think about. He'd gone down that road before and ended up in Military School. It was better to concentrate on ice cream. Right, ice cream. "Forget about the exercising and focus on the Vermonster I'm buying you."

She clung to him happily, without realizing what she was doing. "You're my new best friend."

So he was wrong. Rory Gilmore wasn't trying to kill herself; she was trying to kill him. Tristan patted her back, and stepped back from her embrace. "Remember that if I ever do anything stupid."

She managed a nervous laugh, embarrassed by her sudden touchy-feely tendencies. She cleared her throat. "You could even try and not do something stupid." 

"I could, can't tell you if I'll succeed or not," he held the door open for her when they reached it. "How's this for a beginning?"

"Very chivalrous." She smiled and stepped in, thinking about how much the gesture was like her father's gallant one earlier in the week. Huh, had Tristan just reminded her of her father? Before she could dwell on that, she noticed a familiar figure leaning against the counter. That bored expression, that indifferent attitude. It was hard to miss. He saw her then, and straightened immediately as she approached. "Jess." 


	10. Chapter 10: Don't think that I can take ...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

Chapter 10: Don't think that I can take another empty moment 

Cole heard barely heard the knock on his door over the music blasting through the headphones. When one was listening to 3 Doors Down, one rarely heard anything but the song. The person on the other side was going to have to excuse his tardiness. He was in a bad mood so he jerked the door open only to find the one person he didn't want to see. "Schuyler."

"Montgomery," Vaughn returned. Right, that was just who she wanted see right now. But then again, when one went to his dorm room there would be a pretty good chance that one would run into him. "Is Tristan here?"

It was a good thing that he wasn't because Cole didn't want to leave his dorm room and give them the privacy they wanted and he definitely didn't want to see them suck face in front of him. "He's not."

She felt like she was in girl scouts again and asking for him to buy some thin mints from her. Vaughn had to refrain from the impulse to clasp her hands behind her back and rock on her heels. "When do you expect him to be back?"

What? Was he supposed to know his roommate's schedule, now? Okay, he needed to tone down the edge when he answered her. No need to get into a fight that could possibly make her stay longer than necessary. "I'm not sure." 

"Can you please tell him that I stopped by?" See, she could be civil. She could be polite to Cole Montgomery.

"I could. But I might not be here when he comes back. I've got a late class." He could always leave a note or something. "You can stay here and wait." Or he could suggest something stupid like that. 

"Okay, I'll stay." So Vaughn wasn't exactly sure why the words came out of her mouth, but it did. Maybe it was the earlier conversation she had with Leo, or maybe she was suffering from lack of oxygen from exercising.

He was taken aback that she would willingly stay in the same room with him. The shock led to a few seconds of standing awkwardly at the door while she stood awkwardly in the hallway. Then he moved back to let her in. "Um, okay."

Vaughn stepped hesitantly into the room. She hadn't actually been in alone in a bedroom with Cole Montgomery since she was nine. And that's when Cole had decided it would be a good idea to see if cutting her hair would get rid of her curls. She should've made so there were no sharp objects in the room before entering. "So…" Too bad she suffered from the need to always have a conversation going. "What are you listening to?"

Oh right, her need to talk with anyone and everyone who would listen. He closed his textbook. He was not going to get any work done with her in the room. "When I'm Gone, 3 Doors Down." 

She knew that. She really did. "The solider song?"

"Yeah." He might as well be civil since she had sort of waved the white flag. "Do you like it?" 

Well, it was no matchbox twenty but… "Yeah, it's good."

He grinned knowingly. "It just doesn't compare to, what's the name… 'Last Beautiful Girl', does it?" 

Vaughn sometimes forgot that when it came to some things, he knew her far too well. "Well nothing can compare to 'Last Beautiful Girl'. Except, possibly, 'Bed of Lies'."

"Of course," he answered with a grin. Talking to her like a normal human being was kind of cool. Who woulda thunk it?

How to remain civil? "I'm kind of shocked to learned that you've extended your musical tastes beyond Mellencamp."

He leaned back in his chair. "You'd be amazed how far my musical tastes stretch these days. Credited to Ronnie."

"That's a scary thought." She remembered Ronnie's room. Walls covered in boy band splendor, last she saw. But, then again, that was when Ronnie was ten.

"When you know the lyrics to some inane song by O-Town, you should fear for your sanity."

Vaughn shrugged, "According to my mother I have none to fear for."

As if her mother was one to judge. Wait, was that thought actually a little in _defense_ of Schuyler? It must be some residual loyalty from his childhood. He had to rectify that somehow, to even it out or something. But at the risk of disrupting the sort-of-truce they achieved? He needed to change the subject. "So, did you talk to Leo?" 

Leo. Safe topic. Her mother, on the other hand. Not so much. She was almost thankful towards him. "Yes. Well, I did after he finished stubbing his toe on Torie's crib."

Cole laughed for what seemed like the first time in her presence. "That guy is always ramming into something. You remember the Fourth of July at the Thorntons, don't you?"

Vaughn hadn't until he brought it up, and she laughed as well. "I don't believe their garden ever recovered. Neither did the gardener, apparently."

"I think he quit." They continued to laugh and then lapsed into this odd – comfortable, silence. It was like they were younger again, before the ugliness between their families became public. Thinking about it now reminded him about how much things had changed. Funny thing was, he couldn't remember why he thought they had to. "So…"

"So," silence loomed over them again. "Speaking of gardener's, did yours ever repair that trellis that he accused me of breaking? Which was completely unfounded by the way, since it was your brilliant idea to play the knight in shining armor."

"Like you were ever opposed to being rescued, Schuyler. And yes, he did. He warned me never to let you into the house again." He smiled a little at the memory. "But then my summer would have been very boring."

Yes, she had always made an excellent damsel-in-distress. "And you would have never known what you would look like with orange hair."

"Don't go there, Skye. I still haven't forgiven you." 

For once the use of that nickname didn't irritate the hell out of her. "I thought it looked good on you."

He grinned. It did scare the hell out of his mother, which was always a plus. "If we're going to talk about our past hairstyles, I remember a certain experiment with a pair of scissors and your curls."

She took an involuntary step backwards. Vaughn swore she had nightmares concerning Cole and scissors for months after that. "I believe I went to therapy to block that incident out of my mind."

It must've been all the reminiscing that made him reach for her hands and tug her towards his chair. He looked up at her with fake sincerity. "I'm truly sorry about the trauma I caused you, Skye."  

Her strawberry blonde curls bounced forward. "My brother always told me not to believe a word you said, Cole."

She was calling him Cole again. It bothered him. "Your brother is a smart man."

"That's what Princeton said."

He looked down at their clasped hands and then back at her. "Yale's better." 

Vaughn was trying to ignore the fact that their hands were clasped together. It was too unsettling. "I think the fact that it's not in New Jersey is a testament to that."

He laughed, let go of her hands and cleared his throat. "I guess we should be grateful for that."

Right. She stepped back, and then sat on the floor. The floor seemed a very safe place to be right now. "Well it depends on how big of a Devils fan you are."

She looked so…comfortable on the floor, sitting Indian style. He was almost tempted to join her. The chair was safer, though. "I've never been much of a hockey player. Football is more my speed."

She remembered Nicky, Leo and Cole playing some type of football during the summer months of their childhood. Not that she had ever been able to join, and had been reduced to the position of cheerleader. Something she had never been happy with. "I'd find hitting someone with a stick more satisfying than with my body." Then again, the stick would make about a hundreds more the impact.

He didn't want to be thinking about her body. He shifted uncomfortably. "To each their own, I guess."

Maybe she should just leave a message for Tristan after all. "Right."

The door opened abruptly and Tristan walked in, looking a little preoccupied. Schuyler stood up and Cole reached over to pick up his books. "Hey DuGrey, you have a visitor. I was just keeping her busy."

Tristan had been a little startled to see Vaughn there, unscathed and not looking at all pissed off. Today was a definitely a strange day. He turned to his roommate. "Thanks Montgomery. You're a gracious host."

"That's one way of putting it." Oh, how easy it was to slip into old habits.

Cole simply glared at her and collected his books. "I've got a class. Behave."

"We'll try." Tristan laughed, patted him on the back as he exited and then turned to Vaughn, who was suddenly looking a little nervous. "Hey."

"Hey." This would probably be more comfortable if she was sitting on the floor. Everything was more comfortable on the floor.

He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. "Why is this so awkward?"

Vaughn could guess one reason. "Because we're…" How to finish this sentence? "Just meant to be friends."

He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. Friends. That's what he had been thinking. He smiled at her, glad that there were no hard feelings. "I'm glad."

That hadn't been so bad. "Me too." She looked around. Go or stay and make conversation? "So, um, what's up?"

"I just had this weird encounter."

"How weird?"

"I met Rory's ex-boyfriend," he explained, running a hand through his hair. "He just didn't seem like…someone she'd date."

"Jess?" Well, duh, Vaughn that could only be who it was. "What was he like?"

He shrugged. "Average height. Dark hair. Monosyllabic. Very James Dean."  
  


Tristan was such a guy. "Thank you for telling me what I already know. What happened when he showed up?"

That was the weird part. "Rory looked like she saw a ghost. Then she did that rambling thing she does, she introduced me and then I left. I guess I tried to make it easier on her somehow."

Huh. "It's probably best for her to be alone with him." And work out some of her issues. "I guess I should go back to the dorm and wait for her."

He grinned. "Yeah, the whole female bonding thing."

"Something like that," Vaughn rolled her eyes and walked toward the door. "So I'll see you later?"

"Later. Hey Vaughn?"

She stopped. "Yeah?"

He waited until she turned around before he said, "I really am glad we're friends."

Vaughn smiled at him. "I'm really glad too." And then she left.

~*~

To go to class or not to go? That was the question that Cole was contemplating halfway to his Nature of Politics lecture. It wasn't like he didn't enjoy the class and it was an essential requirement towards his major but he just didn't…feel like going today. So, here he was standing outside the Admissions office weighing the pros and cons of decision to not go. So far the pros outweighed the cons. Just as he turned around to head back to his dorm room (hopefully, Tristan and Schuyler had taken their escapades somewhere else) a familiar face caught his eyes and he stopped dead.

Cecily Claymore. Damn.

The first thing Cecily Claymore noticed about the young man was his bone structure; it was so obviously Montgomery bone structure. My oh my, hadn't he grown up to look like his father? She pushed her sunglasses up and onto rest on the top of her head walked over to him. This could be good for more than one thing.

"Cole!" She stopped as soon as she reached him. "So nice to see you again." Cecily rested her hand on his arm as she spoke.

His innate urge was to jerk his arm away and turn around to leave but his upbringing ordered him to stay put and make polite conversation. Even if it was with the enemy. "Mrs. Claymore. It's nice to see you, too."

"I was hoping you could help me with something," Cecily sighed oh so dramatically. "I'm looking for my daughter. Who is, as she always is, not where she was suppose to be." If Skye ever did what she was suppose to, Cecily would still have a marriage. "And I haven't been on a college campus for ages, so this dorm information they gave me on Skye is absolutely no help at all."

So this was what they called being stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he helped Cecily find Schuyler, the latter would hate it. If he didn't, the former would hang around him longer than he wished. Ah well, Schuyler despised him already. "I'll be happy to help."

Cecily hand fluttered from his arm to run through her thick blonde hair. "Thank you, you were always such a sweet child."

She did remember he was still supposed to be a child in her eyes, right? Because the way she was looking at him was making him uncomfortable. "This way, ma'am."


	11. Chapter 11: If we slide on over and acce...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

**Author's note**: 1) If you haven't figured it out by now, Mark Paul and Emilie have been cast to play Cole Montgomery and Schuyler Claymore, respectively. Yeah, we're strange like that.

2) Correction: Schuyler is pronounced "Skylar".

3) Jess lives in Boston because we didn't know where he was moving to when we first started writing. Besides, our Dipper hearts couldn't pass up such an opportunity.

4) One chapter of solid S/C does not make Trory a secondary storyline. Patience people! Thanks Katie for understand so much! ****

Chapter 11: If we slide on over and accept fate 

Rory had waited until Tristan had left and she had gotten her ice cream before even thinking about actually striking up a real conversation with Jess. It was definitely an ice cream moment. Actually it was more of a super coffee moment but ice cream would have to do. After an awkward introduction and an even more awkward goodbye, Mr. Mariano went outside. This led to her giving Jess an impulsive but awkward hug. Oy, all this awkwardness was going to be the death of her yet. She was surprised to be still living after standing in between Tristan and Jess. It had even made her feel guilty for reasons she didn't know why. Oh, how Lorelai Leigh Gilmore longed for the days when the only man in her life was her nomadic father.

"So, wow, you're here." She really needed to stop her overuse of the word "wow" around him. It made her sound blonde and vacuous, even more than she felt that way.

He had a wisecrack for that, he really did. But somehow, after seeing Rory with that Tristan guy, he wasn't in the mood for joking. He shrugged as they sat down at a table. "I said I would be."  

"I know, it's just so..." Real. Rory frowned and took a bite out of her waffle cone. "Shocking still. How are you?" Her hand reached forward to touch his arm, but then fell awkwardly on the table when she remembered that she shouldn't do that. Habits were hard to break. "Are you good?"

"I'm good. You?"

Right. It was pointless to start up a conversation with Jess- all he'd do is grunt out a monosyllable and twist it so you were the only one sharing. "I'm good. Actually, really good. I've made good, nice friends. What about you? Have you made friends?" Man, ice cream had a worse effect on her than coffee. Or maybe it was just Jess.

God, he missed the rambling. "A couple. It seems that you're much better in that department though. It's been three weeks and you and that guy seem to know each other pretty well." He sounded jealous. Damn. 

"Tristan went to Chilton." Except for most of his junior year and none of his senior year. "So I already knew him." Though at the time she had known him before she hadn't been very glad of that fact. But now, well it was nice having him around. She started to smile but then caught her self, and worked on her ice cream cone instead.

He was used to studying her closely so he didn't miss the hint of her smile that played across her lips. Something in his stomach churned and he looked away, already hating Tristan. He was just so…lucky. "I saw Paris."

"Oh," Rory sucked in the word more than she actually said it. "How is she?" It was weird to think of Jess and Paris being just the two of them, without her.

It was his turn to smile a little. "Same old, same old." 

Jess knowing what would be typical Paris. It really did hurt to move on, and at the same time it was very.... not healing, but just felt right. "I'm glad. How is..." She looked out the window, and then back at him. "Your living arrangement going?"

"It's going, I guess. My dad and I…were working on it." Why was it so weird to talk to Rory about this? Why had it been easy to tell Paris?

"That's good." This was weirder than she could have ever imagined. "Luke misses you." Which is probably why she just blurted that out.

He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He had talked to Luke, apologized even, but still even the mere mention of his uncle made him feel guilty. He met her gaze this time, hoping to show her that he meant what he said next. "I miss him, too."

He meant it, she could tell. Rory was glad she could tell, because it still meant they had a semblance of a connection. "It's really pathetic actually. He slumps around the diner, looking morose. Sometimes he just stops and looks up to where the apartment is, and looks like he's listening for something. Punk music, perhaps. And then his frown deepens when he doesn't hear it and he continues on berating my mother and me for our high caffeine consumption."

He had disappointed Luke; the guilt worsened. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. Suddenly, like a freight train, it hit him. He had disappointed her, too. She was talking about Luke but he knew she meant herself, as well. "I'm sorry, Rory."

Rory wasn't sure exactly how to respond to that, and the only words that came to mind were from a Good Charlotte song that went 'it's not okay, but we're all right', but it was rather cheesy to quote a song in conversation unless you were in a musical. And even then, you could only quote Good Charlotte if Baz Luhrmann had directed it. So she finished off her ice cream before responding. "I know you are."

"I didn't want us to end that way." Hell, he didn't want them to end at all. 

Neither did she. But it seemed all her relationships were bound to end disastrously, if her experiences with Dean and Jess were any indication. "Maybe it's better that you got a clean start with your father…with no connections from your past life."

Maybe she was right, but he didn't want to think she wouldn't be a part of his life at all. Letting go had never been a problem for him until now. "Yeah, I guess so." 

Rory bit her lip. "Not to say that in the future that you may want…some past connections to reenter your life." She paused. "As a friend."

He couldn't help but smile as he reached for her hand, the awkwardness between them suddenly dissipating. "I'd like that."

She grinned back at him. "Me too."

He waited until she finished her ice cream before gesturing they leave. Once outside, he turned to her expectantly. She looked back at him, those blue eyes wide and innocent and he remembered the first time he'd seen her, smiling prettily and greeting him cheerfully. He had wanted to kiss her then, he wanted to do so now. "So…"

"So…" Rory repeated, fidgeting. It was almost a déjà vu moment right now. How many times had she found herself in this place? Standing with Jess. Except it wasn't, because she was uncertain on how to continue.

He reached for her hand, pulled her close. Her eyes widened and she looked up hesitantly. It was a different kind of hesitation now, he could tell. It felt strange. "Can I kiss you?"

"Um," Rory stammered and then bit down gently on her tongue. It would feel nice to… "One last time?"

He nodded and leaned in touching his lips lightly to hers, applying the barest pressure. She responded but it wasn't the same. In fact, she pulled away before he could deepen it. It was probably for the best. She smiled slightly. "It was good to see you, Rory."

"It was good to see you too, Jess," She gave him another quick hug, this time a lot less awkward than the one she had greeted him with. "Come back to Stars Hollow sometime. During a holiday or something."

"Those are the times I'd like to avoid Stars Hollow," he grinned. 

Rory returned it. "But it's so much fun. Do you really want to miss out on Luke threatening Taylor with a frying pan? Or Mom stealing the cinnamon sugar from beneath the counter so that her coffee is in a Christmas mood?"

His smiled widened and he let go of her hands. "Bye Rory."

"Bye Jess," she said before walking away. And then she smiled to herself, that's what good bye was supposed to feel like.

~*~

Cecily Claymore lifted her hand and knocked delicately on the door of her daughter's dorm room. Cole had shown her to the building but refused to come upstairs. It was strange; he was always such a good friend to Skye. She knocked again, this time louder. The door flew open and she smiled brightly. "Hello darling."

Vaughn had been in the middle of, well nothing really, she had her music up a little too loud, but when listening to Tara MacLean that was a necessity, and staring at the words on her text book despite the fact they all kind of blended together to make just lines of black. Which meant she wasn't getting any studying done since she wasn't even sure whether it was her Psych books or one of her Medieval text books. But then the knocking had sounded, and she had been glad for the reprieve of blinding herself through staring, and she to pause to turn down the music and then she had opened the door. And wondered whether or not the too-loud music and the staring had affected her hearing and her sight, because that could not be her mother standing there.

But it was, as soon as the breezy greeting had passed Cecily Claymore's painted lips, Vaughn had suddenly felt that she was too short, her hair too bright, her eyes too weird and her clothes to peculiar for a girl of her standing. Yes, this was definitely her mother. Now the only question was what was she doing there.

"Hello…Mother." Vaughn wasn't sure if she had referred to her mother by any name at all since that whole mess had begun. She had made a point to only go to her Father's or brother's during breaks at St. Helene's.

Cecily inspected the room, her eyes roving over the two beds, the window, the posters and the desk before she turned to her daughter again. Skye stood awkwardly at the doorway as if she were afraid to move. Her daughter was such a drama queen. "Well, don't stand there. Come give me a hug."

Vaughn was finally able to move, except she stepped away from Cecily, rather than embracing her. "You didn't tell me you were coming."

Ah yes, her daughter wasn't very touchy feely. She ran her fingertips over the top of Vaughn's desk. "Yes, well, I thought I'd surprise you. But the unplanned visit did have a downfall – I didn't know which room you were in, least of all how to get here. And then, an angel was sent to me." She giggled at her own dramatic flair.

Vaughn had never been sure if her mother was just a flaky airhead or overly dramatic. Cecily Claymore had done some wonderful manipulations of people and events, so she doubted it was the former. Then she frowned, "An angel?"

"Cole Montgomery." She clapped her hands together, grinning. "How handsome did he turn out? I guess what they say about apples falling from trees is true. He showed me how to get here. Such a gentleman." 

Of course he would show her mother right to her door. Vaughn didn't know why she still had the ability to feel betrayed by him. "How nice of him." She was suddenly too exhausted to deal with her mother, and she sat back down on her desk chair. "Why are you here?"

"I've come to visit, of course." She glanced over at the other bed on the other side of the room. "So, am I going to get to meet your roommate?"

The mention of her roommate, reminded Vaughn why she had been staring at her textbook. After dealing with her ex-boyfriend, the last thing Rory needed was to meet Cecily Claymore. "I'm not sure. How long are you here for?" If it was any longer than two seconds, she may be ready for death.

"Do you want me to leave, Schuyler Vaughn?"

Yes. "I'd hate to cut into your busy…" She bit her tongue on this one. "Social schedule."

Cecily wasn't as dense as her daughter believed her to be. She sighed and sat down on the bed, crossing her legs. "I bet you didn't ask you father to leave."

"He hasn't visited yet." But it was true; she wouldn't ask her father to leave. Unless he tried to bed Rory, that was just crossing the line. But she wouldn't put it past Roger Claymore.

Cecily smiled smugly. "Of course he hasn't."

Vaughn's immediate reaction was to open her mouth and defend her father. But then she closed it, what did she care? She was over being in the middle of the divorce. And it looked like her mother was going to milk this visit for all it was worth. "How have you been?"

"Oh you know…" Cecily stated with a wave of her hand. She'd been normal. She had spent the summer in the south of France, fucking gorgeous men. "Good."

She really didn't want to know. "That's good."

What was it that teenagers wanted these days? Parents to be their friends. She could do that. "So, are you sleeping with someone?"

Vaughn wasn't sure what was more embarrassing - walking in on her mother and Charles Montgomery when she was twelve, or her mother asking that question. "Not as of late." She had to relax her jaw before she grinded her teeth down to dust.

Oh well. Her daughter had always been kind of a prude. All these gorgeous college men and Schuyler had become a fan of celibacy. Figured. "I'm sure you'll find someone."

Actually singledom seemed so very appealing to her, but she wasn't going to provide her mother with that information. "I'm sure."

Cecily opened her mouth to say something when the door opened and a brown-haired girl walked in, looking a little sad. Ah, the roommate. She looked so…naïve. 

Rory stopped short when she spotted the blonde haired woman on her bed. For a minute she figured that she had come into the wrong room, still weirded out by the Jess visit. But then she spotted Schuyler. "Um, hey. Sorry if I'm interrupting." 

Vaughn stood up. "Not at all." Her mother and her couldn't carry on a decent conversation to save their lives. "Rory, this is Cecily Claymore." Then she turned to her mother. "This is my roommate, Rory Gilmore."

Cecily extended her hand. "Hello Rory. Such a pretty name."

Rory colored a bit. "Thank you. It's short for Lorelai. I was named after my mother. I get this verbal thing from her too. Sorry, I'll shut up." 

Cecily smiled. She was an…interesting girl. "Oh you must tell me more. Skye and I hardly had a chance to catch up."

"Actually, it's not going to be very possible, Rory and I have an English Composition class to attend." The lie slipped off her tongue far too easily. Maybe she did have some of her parents in her after all. "Are you going to be here when I get back?"

Cecily sighed. What would she do while she waited? And she had that dinner with the Helen Worthington. "I would love to stay. But I have plans."

"Maybe some other time," Rory said trying to be polite but then bit her bottom lip when Vaughn glared at her. "It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Claymore."

"Likewise Rory." She leaned in to kiss her daughter on her cheek. "Call me, darling."

It'd be a cold day in hell before that happened, but Vaughn refrained from making any more comments as her mother left. Once Cecily was gone, she reached into her desk drawer, pulled out two candy bars, and handed one to Rory. They were going to need it.


	12. Chapter 12: I think I could need, this i...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan Chapter 12: I think I could need, this in my life 

Cole had returned shortly after his encounter with Cecily Claymore, and had filled his roommate in on what was happening. Tristan, in return, mentioned the Rory and Jess thing. So, while their girls were going through, what could possibly be, heart breaking situations, what did the two boys do? They went to eat. 

However, upon arriving in the dining room, they found a rather desolate looking Rory Gilmore eating alone. After getting food of their own, they joined her. 

Tristan sat across from her. "So…" Did one jump right into this? "How did it, uh, go?"

Rory was in the middle of making a smiley face out of her mashed potatoes – she sure as hell wasn't going to eat them – when Tristan's voice startled her. She looked up at Cole who was still standing. "It went."

"That well, huh?" Cole asked as he finally decided to sit beside her. 

She shrugged. She didn't even know why she was feeling depressed. It wasn't like she and Jess had gotten into a fight. But when she had returned to her dorm room, the fact that she and Jess were over, it finally sunk it. "It was okay, I guess."

Okay wasn't really good, which for some reason pleased Tristan. That was probably quite horrible of him. "What happened to Vaughn?"

"I don't know. She didn't feel like dinner and she didn't feel like sitting in our room." Rory waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. She felt bad for Vaughn but was too depressed to be the sympathetic ear to her roommate's problems. It wasn't like Vaughn was very forthcoming when it came to Cecily Claymore. She stood up and picked up her empty glass. "I'm going to go get something to drink."

Once she was gone, Tristan gave Cole and expectant look. "What?" 

"You should go after her." Some would think he was sending his roommate out to be murdered. But things were too freshly ended with Vaughn for him to go after her, and if anyone knew about Vaughn's mother's issues - it'd be Cole.

"After Rory?" he asked and when Tristan shook his head, Cole's jaw dropped incredulously. "You want me to go find Schuyler? Excuse me; do you not know the history? You're the boyfriend, you go."

"Actually I'm not." Tristan leaned back in his chair. "And I don't know the history, which is why you should go."

"You're not?" That was…well, interesting. At least he didn't have to see the two of them kiss anymore. Cole ran a hand through his hair. "Look, the last person Schuyler would want to see after seeing her mother is me."

"Actually you are," he paused as he let that sink in for Cole. "She'll want something to hit. And I'm sure there's nobody she'd like to hit more than you."

"Sadist."

"Who is?" Rory asked as she came back with her drink.

"DuGrey," Cole answered as she sat down. If there weren't a little voice in his head telling him that it was through his guidance that Cecily had even found Schuyler, he wouldn't have even considered searching for her. Damn his twisted sense of honor. He sighed and mumbled, "I'm going to go look for Schuyler." 

Tristan watched him get up. "Good luck."

Cole sighed and walked away from the table. He was going to need it.

~*~

Rory wasn't exactly sure why Tristan had suggested they take a walk after she had finished making her dinner look incredibly inedible but she was pretty sure that it had something to do with the fresh air. She'd never walked through the campus at night because she was usually in her room studying. The serenity and lavishness of the Yale campus at night had eluded her for three weeks and she was grateful to Tristan for bringing her outside. 

She shuddered a bit when a cool breeze ruffled the trees. Like an idiot, she had forgotten to wear a light jacket. She hugged herself. "It's getting a little cold."

"Do you want to go inside? Steal my jacket?" Tristan asked her, as the wind blew leaves across their feet.

"You shouldn't have to suffer because of my stupidity." 

"You'd be amazed by how much body heat my…body contains." Yeah. That did sound even more stupid out loud.

She gave him a playful shove, her spirits already lifting. "You're such a dork."

"Always happy to amuse," Tristan resumed his original position beside her. This was nice, he wasn't sure if he could have done this type of playful teasing back in high school. But he was glad he could appreciate it now. He threw an arm around her shoulder. "You know Gilmore. I think you've suffered enough as it is today, let me buy you a coffee."

She unconsciously snuggled closer, accepting the warmth he was offering. He smelled…intoxicating. Soap and cologne. She sighed deeply. "You're too kind, sir. But after all, you still owe me for the ice cream."

Tristan ignored the rush of heat coursing through his body. He focused on ice cream, because that was cold. And safe, and cute like a teddy bear. "You want one, or the other, or both? I could buy you Ben & Jerry's if you'd like."

"Coffee sounds nice." Maybe it was the way he smelled or maybe it was the prospect of coffee but a flurry of those warm and fuzzy feelings spread through her. She rested her head lightly against his shoulder as they walked towards Starbucks. 

Keep walking, and ignore any impure thoughts. That was Tristan's new mantra. "Has it ever not sounded nice to you?"

She scrunched her nose and pondered. "I don't think so. Well maybe when I was sick with the flu and nothing stayed in my stomach. That's when coffee didn't sound appealing. Just don't ever tell my mom I said that."

"My lips are sealed, I think I may like having this juicy tidbit to hold over your head."

She had forgotten how much fun their repartee had been and if she was honest with herself, and Rory Gilmore rarely was when it came to him, she missed it. She pouted. "You're mean."

"Only because your lips are so loose." Wow, what a wrong thing to say.

Rory didn't really know how to interpret that so she just giggled nervously and was grateful that they had arrived at Starbucks. She pulled away from him so that she could open the door. They stepped in and she took in a deep breath. "This is what heaven must smell like." 

"And let me guess, the walls of heaven also happened to be lined with books?" Tristan questioned as they stepped up to the counter. "Heaven's own version of Barnes and Noble."

"In my dreams, most definitely." She smiled widely, imagining the particular version of heaven. The guy behind the counter, the one Vaughn said was cute, grinned back at her. She blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Hi."

"Hey," the guy returned looking between her and Tristan. "What can I get you?"

"A medium coffee, black." It was pretty much the only way he'd ever had coffee. "Rory?"

"I'll have the same thing, but with cream and sugar." Once the guy went to get their orders, she turned to Tristan and made a face. "How can you drink it black?"

"Uh, I swallow."

She rolled her eyes and slapped him lightly on the chest. She really needed to stop finding ways to touch him. "So, why did you send Cole after Vaughn? I mean, I think she'd appreciate it more if you went…being the boyfriend and all." 

"I'm not," He paid the cashier after their coffee was handed to them. "The boyfriend, that is."

"Oh." She accepted her cup of coffee from his hands and didn't know if the feeling coursing through her was relief. Why would she be relieved? Her conscience scrambled for answer - because it was weird thinking of them together. She took a sip of her coffee, ignoring the fact that it was scalding hot. "I didn't know. Um, what happened?"

"Nothing." Tristan shrugged. "We decided to be friends."

"Well, friends is good. Actually, it's really good. Friends is better than…well, not being friends. In fact, I think that friendship is the best thing for you. Not that dating wasn't but well, dating obviously was…I don't even know why I'm rambling!" she exclaimed and laughed nervously. 

He bit back a laugh. "You always ramble. It's very endearing."

She didn't know why but suddenly she was grinning widely even though she could feel her cheeks grow hot. Why was it that he had the power to make her blush so much? She glanced at him as they made their way out of the Starbucks. "Thanks."

"I only speak the truth," Tristan decided it was better if he just drank his coffee. Talking always seemed to get him in trouble with Rory Gilmore.

She rolled her eyes again. "Of course. Tell me, do you always mean it when you tell a girl she's beautiful?"

"Yes, because otherwise I only hint that they're beautiful. No lies ever pass my lips with that one."

She let out an incredulous laugh. "So you're telling me that all those girls you dated in high school were treated to nothing but the truth? Even when you were breaking it off with them and trying to be as gentle as possible?"

It was just a game in high school. Not just to him, but to the girls as well. That's why he had dated him. "Tell me, Rory did you ever study Watergate?"

"The word 'duh' comes to mind. Where are you going with this?"

"Well, when Woodward and Bernstein were trying to figure out how high the corruption went. Well, they went to that one guy- the one that resigned because his wife told him to, and they wanted to connect it to Halderman. So he confirms that Halderman did have a part of it, except Carl and Bob misinterpret it as he had testified about it." It was shocking to Tristan how much he had actually learned during his time at Chilton. He hadn't realized it until now. "So when they printed it, the guy denied testifying about it. He explained this to them by saying that no one asked him about Halderman. So he didn't lie." He had a point to this, right? "Well, that's what it's like. You only offer the information that they want. No need to go further than they're beautiful, and say that they have the IQ of three year old. Just tell them what they ask."

Rory blinked twice. That was pretty impressive; she always believed Tristan wasn't really paying attention to what the teacher was saying. She looked up at him, not hiding her surprise. "I don't know what to say to that really. Although the analogy…very well thought-out."

"Thank you." He knew she looked shocked. He was quite shocked himself. "I have no clue where that came from. Other than to say, I caught the last half of _All The President's Men _a month ago on television."

She laughed and took another sip of her coffee. "I finally figured out what's so interesting about you, Tristan DuGrey."

"And what is that?" Tristan sounded rather casual when he said it, but he was surprised by how much he wanted to hear her answer.

"Just when I think I have you pegged; you completely take me by surprise." She glanced up at him to gauge his reaction.

"I'll take that as a compliment then."

"It was meant as one. Makes you an original in my life." It was funny how easy the words stumbled out of her mouth when a year ago, she would never have imagined being this nice to him. 

"The same goes for you." After all Rory Gilmore was one of the few people he's met that didn't like him. And definitely the only one to tell him. Over and over again.

She glanced over at him and studied his profile, almost as if trying to figure out what had changed about him simply by looking at him long enough. "Tristan, can I ask you a question?" __

"Other than the one you just asked?" Tristan shrugged. "Go for it."

She took in a deep breath, hoping that the question wouldn't offend him. "Junior year, why'd you do all of that stuff? I mean, everything that got you into trouble?"

"I don't know." And he didn't. "It was stupid, I was young and I learned from it." And he didn't wish to take it back; Tristan hadn't much liked himself at that point in his life. It had been good for him to get away from Hartford and the role that had been picked for him.

They stopped under a tree she turned to face him fully. "I guess I can understand that."

"Well, we're young Gilmore," Tristan told her, "We have our whole lives ahead of us to be perfect. Why not screw up now while we can still fix it?" He winked at her. "Are you in the mood for something truly reckless?"

Her eyes widened when she saw the familiar, mischievous gleam in his eye. That could only mean one thing where he was concerned – trouble. She was about to decline when all of a sudden a voice in her head (one that sounded exactly like the voice she had heard the night Jess crashed her car) whispered to her, 'Why not?' She looked at Tristan and felt her lips curve into a smile. "I'm game." 

Tristan looped his arm around hers and tugged her forward. "Just a disclaimer before we begin, that anything that may or may not happen to you- remember you agreed to come with out coercion."

She let out of a nervous laugh as she quickly followed him, swallowing the lump that had risen in her throat. "As long as you don't kill me, I won't complain."

"I can promise you that," he assured her before continuing to lead her away from the tree.

"Good to know." The last time she'd done something that had been even remotely daring was when she had wrecked Jess' car with the deviled eggs. _Risqué Gilmore,_ the voice jeered her. But Tristan had spent his high school days living as dangerously as he could and now she was his accomplice. But she wasn't in Stars Hollow anymore. People weren't going to say that that hoodlum had spoiled her. She would never have to face her mother's disapproval because Lorelai would never find out. It was…freeing.


	13. Chapter 13: I bet you need more than yo...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

Chapter 13: I bet you need - more than you mind  

He was beginning to think it was futile to look for Schuyler. What was he really going to say when he found her anyway? 'Hey Schuyler, do you want to hit me for letting the bitch loose on you?' Cole was pretty sure her answer would be a vehement yes. He crossed the street and entered the park located across the campus. Suddenly, he knew exactly where to look for her. He neared the playground and sure enough he saw Schuyler's solitary figure hunched over on a swing.

He approached cautiously. "Hey."

Vaughn kicked the dirt from underneath her, and looked over at him. "So, how'd you know where to find me?"

Good, no vicious threats. He lowered himself onto the swing next to her. "Because once upon a time, you and I used to be best friends."

"A long time ago, in a galaxy so very far away," she rested her head on the chain, and watched him from the corner of her eye. "Am I really that predictable?"

He gripped the chain with his hand and shrugged. "Not so much, anymore."

"Good, it'd be sad if I was just like I was at twelve," Vaughn sighed. She wished she was twelve again, at least the twelve she was before everything had happened. Those were good times, fun times.

"Well, we are sitting on swings in a playground."

She lifted her head up. "What's wrong with swings?"

"Nothing, I guess. I'm just more a slide person." He made designs in the sand with his foot and avoided looking at her. After a long pause, he asked, "What did she say that upset you so much?"

"Nothing specific," Vaughn paused to think about it. "She was just being Cecily. That and she made some comments about you that are better left unimagined."

Cole flinched and suppressed a shudder of disgust. Cecily Claymore caused so much trouble. He wondered if she was aware of it. He turned to Schuyler, studying her profile. Except from the hair and startling good looks, she had not inherited anything from her mother. "You shouldn't let her get to you like this."

"I try not to, but avoiding her doesn't work when she tracks me down," Vaughn pointed out. She felt twelve again. "I hate her." It was simply stated, she just wasn't sure that it was heartfelt. Maybe that's what she hated.

He sighed. He knew the feeling all too well, only his hate was directed towards his father. "Do you ever get the feeling that no matter what you do, you'll end up like her?"

"I believe there had been some nightmares about that," Vaughn replied. "But I hold onto the whole hope that I'm not being delusional when I think that I'm better to be around than my mother. And less creepy."

They didn't like each other; hadn't since they were twelve so his next words surprised him. "You're not. Being delusional, that is." 

"Thanks." Right now she didn't care if he was saying the words so she wouldn't mope or because he meant them. It was just nice to hear someone say that. And if he was being nice… "You're not as similar to your father as I make you out to be."

He laughed and pushed back on the swing. "Well, I knew that much."

She rolled her eyes. "I was trying to be nice."

"And I was making a joke," he returned and pushed a little faster on the swing. "I do that once in awhile, Schuyler Vaughn, you're just going to have to get used to it. Looks like we'll be spending time together again."

Vaughn pushed her feet on the ground to get her own swing going. "I thought this was suppose to cheer me up, Montgomery."

"Whatever gave you that idea? I'm just here because DuGrey was too chicken to come look for you himself."

She laughed. "Thanks, to both of you. Just thanks." Vaughn stopped her swing abruptly. "Are you hungry?"

He thought of the tray of food he head left back in the dining hall. "Starving. You in the mood for fast food?"

"Not really, but it's better than nothing."

"We'll get you something fresh."

"How about slow food?"

Cole stood up and shook his head. "I don't think my stomach can wait. I gave up a barely-edible, hardly delectable meal for you, Schuyler Vaughn. The least you can do is eat some fast food. I promise, it'll be fun."

She groaned, "I've heard those words before." Her curls bounced as she shook her head, "and it never turns out pretty."

Without thinking, Cole grabbed her hand and led her away from the playground. "Anyone ever tell you, you're impossible, Claymore?"

"I recall you wasting your breath numerous times in our childhood saying those words," Vaughn clicked her tongue. "But other than you? No."

He tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow and patted it softly. "Probably because no one knows you like I do. That or the fact that you're only impossible with me."

She tilted her head and considered that. "That's not true. I annoyed many a nun at St. Helene's."

"How I would have loved to see that!" he remarked as they crossed the over to the campus parking lot. 

"They almost expelled me once," she told him. "Except my father wields greater influence on the nuns than I would have thought. But I don't want to know how."

Cole nodded as he shuddered. He reached into his pockets and pulled out the keys to his Mercedes and unlocked the door. A beep resounded through the parking lot and he turned to Schuyler (who hadn't done anything to remove her hand from his elbow) with a grin. "This is my baby."

Vaughn's grip unwittingly tightened on his elbow as she looked over the car. "How very…you."

"Isn't it? No one is allowed to drive it." 

She grinned at him, he should know better than to present such a challenge to her. "Can I drive it?"

"Did you not hear what I just said?" He was still admiring his car so he didn't realize that she was using _that_ voice with him. The one that made people do whatever it was she wanted. He turned to her and then he saw the expression that usually accompanied that voice. "Schuyler Vaughn…"

"Cole Andrew," she countered, her full lips being puckered into a pout. "Please?"

His gazed down at her full, pouted lips and suddenly his mouth was very dry. Her hand had instinctively traveled down his arm and those stunning eyes of hers were wide and innocent. The sensible part of him knew what she was doing while the other part was completely falling for her charms. What in the world was a guy supposed to do when Schuyler Vaughn looked at him like that? The only thing he could…"Are you sure you know how to drive?"

"My BMW doesn't drive itself," Vaughn tilted her head to the side. "If that's what you're asking. And there are no accidents, and only one ticket on my record." She felt giddy about doing something Cole had never let any one else do. Of course, it was weird to trying to get him to allow her to drive his car, when she had to no plans on making him very angry.

He reluctantly held up the car keys in front of her face. He had a very bad feeling about this – and he wasn't sure if it was entirely because Schuyler had somehow managed to convince him to let her drive but more the fact that he was actually letting her drive his most prized possession. "I'm only doing this because you're mope-y." 

Vaughn let out a little squeal and took the keys from him. "What's in your CD player?" She was pushing it a little too far, but who knew how far you could go before you had to stop unless you pushed? "Anything horrible?"

Cole sighed and walked over to the passenger side. There was only so much a guy could take. He gritted his teeth and answered, "If you consider Bon Jovi horrible."

She did. But it was definitely not the thing to push. "Where do I get to drive her?" Vaughn asked as she slipped into the driver's seat. Oh, this felt nice. No wonder Cole was so overprotective of the car.

"Vaughnie," he reprimanded condescendingly. "You're only going to spin her around the parking lot. You didn't actually think I'd let you drive all the way to a restaurant, did you?" 

She adjusted the seat so she could actually reach the pedals. "Actually, I was thinking you wouldn't have much say in the matter since I would be in the driver's seat. And you, in the passenger's."

She had a point. The throbbing in his temple was signaling a headache. "I could always get out and stand in front of the car. Although, I'm pretty sure you have no qualms about running me over." 

"I don't," Vaughn fastened her seat belt. "If you died, I'll say you were highly suicidal."

"Maniac," he mumbled under his breath and leaned back against his seat. Cole Montgomery always made the best of the worst situations and right now, all he could do was try and stay calm while Schuyler was behind the wheel of his car. One could never know what trouble a Claymore could get into. 

She turned the key, and the engine purred. Very nice, she grinned at Cole before putting the car into drive. "You're going to damage something looking that tense, Montgomery."

"Who said I was tense? The only thing I'm worried about is you damaging my car."

"The only thing that's going to be damaged is my concentration if you don't start masking your tension," she warned him. He really was too easy. It was…cute. Not cute, fun. Yeah, it was fun.

"Just drive, Claymore." He could tell she was having a ball egging him on. If he didn't know better he'd say she was doing it just to see how far she would go to push him over the edge. _Actually_, he thought as he glanced at her profile. _I'm not sure I do know better_.

"As you wish."

"Don't quote Cary Elwes." 

Vaughn glanced over at him. "Technically I'm quoting William Goldman."

"God, I had forgotten how nitpicky you are," he commented. She was such a smart-alec. He was going to kill DuGrey for sending him after her.

"Can I drive to the restaurant?" she asked. Not that it mattered, since there wasn't much he could do if she pulled out into the road.

She wasn't really giving him much of a choice, was she? "Yeah, you can."

"What restaurant are we going to?" She could at least give him that.

"I'm in the mood for burgers," he stated, starting to relax a little when she merged onto the main street with ease. "Which do you prefer, the golden arches or the…well, king?"

"Have you been reading Freud?" Vaughn asked, "And um, I don't know?"

He rethought his words and then grinned, realizing what said. "Burger King it is. I thought we had this conversation, I don't like Freud."

"No body likes Freud, in fact, I don't think even Anna liked Freud." Well if Vaughn was Anna she wouldn't. Especially considering Freud's views on women. "And where is Burger King?"

"On Main Street, Skye, where else?"  

"Don't call me that- I'll drive your car into oncoming traffic," she warned. She really did hate that name, even more so since her mother showed up and reminded her why. "And it's not like New Haven only has one street. It could be on a different one."

"Where do you think a big franchise like BK would open a restaurant if not on the busiest street, _Schuyler_?" He knew not to take her threat lightly. She was awful troublesome for someone so tiny.

"They have eyes."

Vaughn stole a look at his tight-lipped expression. Really, he was just too easy. "What if they just caught it at an off hour? Like it was a freak one time thing?"

He caught on to what she was doing and he had to admit - she was good. He rolled his eyes and suppressed a grin. "Just get us there, Claymore."

She put her directional light on. "Do you trust me to go across traffic in this car?"

"I trust you as far as I can throw you. But it's not like I have an alternative, right?" he asked and then wagged his finger at her. "You're sneaky, Schuyler Vaughn."

"You can't throw very good," Vaughn pulled into the parking lot of Burger King. "And whatever do you mean by that?"

"That innocent act you put on. Rory and Tristan seem to think you're this wonderful girl with strawberry blonde hair and beautiful violet eyes. I know better." He hadn't realized that he told her she had beautiful eyes until he hear his own voice. He undid his seatbelt and looked away, in hopefully playing it cool. 

"What do you mean by that? That I secretly wear contacts or something?" There was nobody more confusing to her than Cole Montgomery. She undid her own seat beat and got out of the car. "You're not making a lot of sense today."

"Never mind," he grumbled, closing the door of his car. "Forget I said anything. Shall we?"

"No, I'm too confused to eat."

"You're the one who wanted dinner!" he exclaimed. God, she was stubborn. 

Vaughn was getting agitated, one way she could tell because her arms sort of waved wildly for a moment. "You're the one that did the confusing, which made me temporarily lose my appetite."

"And I told you to forget it." He ran a hand through his hair. So much for having a good time with an old friend. DuGrey was going to suffer for this. "Schuyler, we've lasted this long in each other's company for a reason. Let's remember that."

"Fine, Montgomery," she sighed. Whatever, she was tired of this. In fact, she may even go as far to say she was glad her parents sent her away to Catholic school, just because she hadn't had to deal with him for six years. "Lead me into the…building."

Cole sighed and stalked over to the entrance, not bothering to check if she was following. He could so do without her for another six years.


	14. Chapter 14: You're the best time I ever,...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

Chapter 14: You're the best time I ever, ever had 

Reckless was not an adjective people used to describe Rory Gilmore. In fact, she was the exact opposite – responsible, levelheaded and to some, a goody two-shoes. She was okay with that for most of her life. But tonight, away from her home and the people who would be the first to label her with the aforementioned titles, she was feeling just a little out of control.

She laughing all the way as Tristan dragged her across campus, past the gym and then, straight through it's front doors. It was then when she suddenly realized she was with someone who gave the word reckless an entirely different meaning.

"Tristan?" she asked quietly as they groped their way through the darkened hallways. "Where exactly are you taking me?"

Tristan just looked back at her and grinned. That easy-going smile that had charmed many debutantes into losing their heads- and superficial hearts. "Relax, Gilmore. Just a few more moments."

"In a few moments what exactly is going to happen?" She didn't like the tone he was using; that tone usually meant trouble where he was concerned. "You're not planning some petty crime, are you?"

"I'm pretty sure it's only a misdemeanor," Tristan assured her.

"Oh well, in that case, by all means." 

Tristan led her into a room, before turning on the lights. "Here we are."

Here, was the Olympic size swimming pool that Yale boasted about in its many brochures. She took in the distinct smell of chlorine and watched the water rippling softly in the empty room. "What are we doing here?" 

"Swimming," he replied in a matter of fact tone that went well with his slightly mocking smirk. "What else would you do here?"

She looked down at her clothes and scrunched her nose. "But I don't have a bathing costume."

His smirk changed to a wolfish grin. "You don't need it."

Her eyes narrowed in his direction and she crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you mean I don't need a costume? What exactly are you planning on in that warped mind of yours, Tristan? Because I've seen _Cruel Intentions_ and you're no Ryan Phillippe."

Tristan leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Oh how you wound my ego." He stood up and pulled his shirt over his head. "Well its up to you, what you do _Mary_."

She ignored the heated sensation in her stomach as he took off his shirt and carelessly threw it away. Did he always have such a great body? Why hadn't she ever noticed? It was safer not to go there so she turned her gaze away. "You're going to go skinny dipping?" 

He unbuttoned his jeans, "Well, you're invited to join me."

_Do not watch him undress! Look away now_, she ordered herself but she couldn't move her gaze away. What in the hell was wrong with her? Being reckless was one thing but actually considering, stripping down naked with a guy in a swimming pool was something else altogether. "Tristan…"

Tristan hooked his thumbs around the top of his pants, but he didn't pull them down yet. "Yes, Rory?"

He was so casual about it; it made her angry. "You're insane." 

"You might want to warn my parents then that they're wasting money by sending me to a therapist to prevent that sort of thing," Tristan teased. "Now, you don't want to undress. Even a little?"

She glanced at the water (it looked so inviting) and then back at Tristan (he looked so comfortable standing there half-naked). Of course she wanted too. A little. But she wasn't as wild as she aspired to be when the night started. It was all too much for her, so she made excuses. "The water's probably cold."

He didn't bother to hide his amusement. "It's a heated pool."

"Don't make fun of me, DuGrey," she pouted. "Not everyone is as comfortable being naked as you obviously are."

Tristan averted his gaze from her lips that looked full and kissable when she pouted. No need to go there, not in his current state of near-undress. "You know, you need to practice something a lot before you feel comfortable."

"I so do not need to hear how much practice you've had," she replied, throwing her hands up in the air. "You wanna swim naked? Go right ahead. I'll just watch." 

He was probably pushing past the limit, but… "I never thought your tastes would run towards kinky."

"Jesus!" She blushed crimson as her own words replayed in her head and sounded so suggestive. What was about him that always led her to think of something sexual. Fed up, she bunched her fists and plowed into him, sending him over the edge of the pool.

Tristan deserved it, but still, his hand shot out and grabbed her arm, pulling her in along with him as they made a splashing entrance into the pool. He pushed the water soaked hair from his face. "Now don't you wish you had taken off some clothes first?"

"Oh my God!" she yelped and grabbed onto him, in an effort to keep afloat because he completely caught her by surprise. Her clothes clung to her and she looked at him, wild eyed and shocked. "I cannot believe you pulled me in!"

He mimicked her tone and look of shock as he said, "I cannot believe you pushed me in!"

"Are you saying you didn't deserve it?" she asked, smacking his naked, wet chest and realizing that it was a big mistake because for some reason her hand no qualms about staying there.

Tristan looked down at her hand, as he felt the heat radiated from her hand down to…other places. "I am going to have to exercise my right to not answer that." The fact that he could form a coherent sentence was surprising to him.

She realized that it was silly that she was still clinging to him when her feet could touch the floor. Clearing her throat, she disentangled herself from his embrace and focused on her bigger problems. "How are we going to get to our room without catching a cold?"

"You should have thought of that before pushing me into the pool."

"Don't patronize me, DuGrey," she said and without thinking, slapped the surface of the water, sending a wave of it in his face.

Tristan shook the water out of his hair, and wiped it out of his eyes, before grinning and pushing her down under water, before letting her go. She came sputtering up. "You started it," was his automatic defense before she could say a word.

Outraged, she lunged forward, using her body weight to push him backwards, sending him under. Unfortunately, he was quick and he grabbed her legs underwater and pulled her in as well. This time, when they both came up, they were laughing. "Oh, you're going down."

If only… "I believe I just came up from that direction, Gilmore."

"Well, take this." She splashed more water in his face, using both her hands. He took a step back and then flung water back, before grabbing her arm and pulling her to him. She gasped when he bent down and picked her up like she weighed nothing and gave her an evil smile. "Tristan! Put me down!"

"Well…" he pretended to think it over, before lifting her up a little more, and then let her drop.

She went under and almost hit the bottom with her butt before her feet hit the floor. She pushed back up and glared angrily at him, wiping water out of her eyes and slicking back his hair. "No fair! You're stronger than me."

Tristan bit back a grin, "Has anyone ever told you that you're adorable when you're wet and angry?"

She felt her cheeks grow hot and she had to force herself not to giggle. "Don't try to charm me, Tristan. It won't work."

"Oh well," this time he did grin, "shall I be churlish and dunk you again?"

"Oh, we're using SATs words are we?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and taking a cautious step back. "Well, you can. But you're gonna have to catch me first!" With that, she turned and sliced through the water, which was harder than she thought since her clothes were drenched. 

Tristan just smirked, watching as she tried to run through the water. He wasn't so foolish, he was having a hard enough time keeping his pants up against the weight of the water. "Have fun."

She turned back, feeling ridiculous and started to pout. "You won't even chase me?"

He shook his head, "Not even a little bit."

"So we're just going to stand here, in the pool? Two wet Ivy League freshman?" She raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile on her lips. "Is this your idea of reckless, Mr. DuGrey? Oh how far we've come from our safe looting days."

"You're the one that wouldn't get naked," Tristan pointed out. "That was my idea of reckless. This is your idea of reckless."

She tried not to blush and instead, threw her wet hair back over her shoulders. "It's about time you realize I'm not one of your groupies, Tristan DuGrey. I won't get naked with just anyone, you know." 

He sighed dramatically, "Alas, I know."

Rory waded back to him, amused. His messy hair was now matted to his head except for the part that spiked up because of his habit of running his hands through it and she now had to control the urge to do the same. "So now what, James Dean?" 

Tristan had a rather good idea, but whatever he was about to say got stopped on his tongue and he listened. Shit. "We leave."

"What? Why?" Her eyes widened in surprise as he grabbed her hand and they waded quickly through the water, to the side of the pool. That's when she heard the unmistakable sound of a metal door banging shut. "Oh God! Someone's coming!"

"That's why we're leaving," Tristan pulled her over the side of the pool, and onto drier land. "Now we run."

By this time, Rory was already hyperventilating. Dripping wet, she waited for Tristan to gather his discarded jacket and T-shirt and then blindly followed him as he ran for the exit at the back, all the way on the other side. She heard footsteps and mumbled voice and feared pumped through her. "They're gonna find us!"

Tristan rolled his eyes and tugged her through the exit, just as the other door was opening. Free and clear. Well pretty much, then. "See? We're fine."

She slapped a wet hand to his bare chest, shivering in the cool autumn breeze. "Fine? I'm freezing, Tristan! Why in the world did I agree to this?"

"You don't honestly expect an answer to that, do you?" He held out his jacket as an offering to warm her up.

Rory smiled at him gratefully, sliding her wet sleeves into the jacket. He zipped it up for her and flicked her nose with his forefinger. "You should put on that shirt, you'll get pneumonia." And she didn't know how long she could last staring at his naked chest before wanting to touch it again. "In fact, my room not far from here. You should get dried off there. We have towels."

Rory looked too adorable in his too-big-for-her jacket. Actually Tristan rather thought he'd like the look of Rory Gilmore wearing any of his clothes. "We have towels in our room too, we're not complete Neanderthals." He gave her his all-charming smile before pulling his t-shirt over his head. Spending too much time with Rory, especially in small spaces, could prove to be very dangerous for him. Not to mention her.

She stuck out her tongue at him as she grabbed his hand again and pulled him in the direction of her dormitory. "We'll I'm closer." 

"But my dry clothes are in my room, so it's more convenient."

Why was he being so difficult? "You can dry yourself off and then go change. It's not like I want to keep you in my room forever, Tristan."

"Rory, it's late," Tristan tugged on the ends of his still soaking-wet hair. "Just let me go back to my room."

"Fine," she said and let go of his arm, feeling extremely silly. "If you get a cold tomorrow, don't say I didn't offer you any warmth. Here take the jacket back." 

He shook his head, "No, wear it back to the dorm. No sense in us both catching colds then. Besides, its not like you're not going to see me again real soon."

That thought depressed her so she didn't dwell on it and smiled at him, pushing her wet hair behind her ear. "Okay. Thanks for the coffee. And for pushing me into the pool."

"Any time Gilmore." And with a little wave Tristan walked away, towards his dorm.

She stood there for a second, watching him walk away before she shivered and remembered she was cold. She rushed to her room and upon entering, found that it was empty. Relieved that she wouldn't have to explain herself to Vaughn, she quickly dried off and changed into pajamas. As she was ready to crawl into bed with her copy of _Little Women_, her roommate returned. "Where have you been?"

Vaughn shrugged as she slipped off her shoes, "I was…out." With Cole, but she wasn't one to admit to spending time with him. "I hope you had a better night than I did."

Rory didn't want to lie but she wasn't comfortable telling Vaughn, who had dated Tristan (albeit shortly) that she was spending time with him. She settled for the half-truth. "Oh, I just grabbed some coffee with a friend. Then decided to call it a night. Not that much fun. Are you okay? I mean…after your mom?"

Rory made it sound like Cecily Claymore was a terminal illness. But Vaughn guessed her mother was almost as bad as one. "I'm fine. I'm all recovered."

"That's good," she mused aloud. "Oh! Cole went looking for you! Tristan thought you might need something to hit. Hopefully, he missed you."

"Oh no, the only reason I'm recovered is because Cole made me more angry than Cecily did," Vaughn sank down into her desk chair. "But that's a rather old and tired story, don't you think?"

Rory sighed. She knew history, especially a bad one, was very hard to get over. Cases in point? Her parents. Her mom and her grandparents. But she wished Cole and Vaughn could work through whatever it was that plagued them so that her only social life in Yale wasn't so divided. It was all just so…old. "You know what I think? I think we're boring." 

"Unfortunately this is true," Vaughn agreed, rolling her chair close to where Rory was. "Are you suggesting we do something to fix this? Or are we just acknowledging the obvious?"

"The former, of course. We need more spontaneity in our lives." After all, hadn't tonight been the example of free-as-a-jaybird Rory? "We need change. I lived this life in high school and as fun as growing up with Lorelai Gilmore is, I don't want to go through it all over again. Don't you feel the same? Well, minus the growing up with Lorelai Gilmore part because well, you didn't." 

"No, I had a growing up in a convent kind of fun, but I understand what you mean. What are you suggesting?"

"Just something...different."

The only thing Vaughn could think of was… "What about in appearance?"

Rory eyes widened, bemused. "I'm not talking plastic surgery different." 

She rolled her eyes. "Neither am I. God, I'm talking about your hair, Rory."

"My hair?" she asked, playing with the ends. "What should I do to my hair?"

"Not that I usually listen to her, but Cecily is always telling me that doing something with my color would make me a much better person, so if I twist it into something logical," Vaughn explained. "I could suggest highlights. Nothing drastic, but still something different."

"Highlights," Rory said aloud, quickly warming up to the idea. Grinning broadly she said, "Tomorrow, I'm gonna get highlights."


	15. Chapter 15: And if there’s a distance he...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

Chapter 15: And if there's a distance here between us

Vaughn tugged on a strawberry curl and watched as it bounced back up. She had never touched her hair with anything stronger than scissors or the iron that straightened her hair, so she wasn't quite sure how long it would take for highlights. The truth of the matter was, a hell of a lot longer than one would think. See, had she known this, she would have never worn these heels. She winced as a newly formed blister brushed up against the inside of her shoe. Ouch. 

Her violet eyes focused on a familiar figure. And instead of the predictable 'oh no' echoing in her head, as it usually was, her feet, her sore, misused feet, actually walked towards him. 

"Hey Montgomery," Vaughn greeted him. There, she could get over any weird feelings of guilt over how their day at Burger King had gone sour. And life could return to normal.

Cole Montgomery didn't really like malls but he figured he needed to frequent this place if he wanted to have nice shoes and the cool leather jacket he had just bought from a men's store. Besides, Tristan had decided that he needed to do some shopping. Hearing Schuyler's voice from somewhere behind him, made his dislike for malls go up one more notch. He turned to face her. "Claymore."

For all that people blamed her for how bad things could get between her and Cole, it really was his fault too. And this was a prime example. "What brings you here?"

He thought that much would be obvious since he had a shopping bag in his hands but he couldn't tell her that. If anything, he was raised to be civil. Cool, detached and aloof. "Oh, just the usual liveliness of the mall." Damn, the sarcasm had crept in.

It was always best to be the bigger man, or woman in this case, because it always left the other looking like an ass. "Where are you going for Thanksgiving break?"

He hated the fact that she could be nice when it was a struggle for him. Showed how little she cared, he mused. "The Montgomery mansion. Although, DuGrey is insisting I go to Hartford. It's not like anyone is going to miss me back _home_. You?"

"Well, since Leo's going to be at his in-laws, and I hate my mother," Vaughn answered, popping a piece of Trident White into her mouth. "It looks like it's going to be a lovely holiday with Roger."

He felt sorry for her and didn't like it. Change of subject. "So, have you managed to use up all your savings yet or are you still in need of something?"

"My savings are safe and could still blow yours out of the water," Vaughn returned. "And I'm not really shopping, I'm waiting for Rory."

He smiled slightly, Rory Gilmore seemed like the shopping type. "Really? Where is she?"

"Can't tell you, it's a secret," Vaughn shook her head, her curls bouncing. Rory wanted to surprise the guys with her new highlights. "And you should go. To the DuGreys, that is."

He nodded, he had been seriously considering it ever since Nicholas had called and informed him that he wasn't going to show up and he wasn't ready to stretch the limits of his affection for Ronnie. "I just might. DuGrey says he needs someone to help fend off the hotties." 

"You should warn him that he might not want to completely scare them away with your presence." Damn, should have known that whole nice thing wouldn't last that long.

A chink in her armor of politeness - he grinned, glad that he was still able to push her buttons. "As long as you're not going to be hanging off DuGrey's arm as his trophy girlfriend, I think Hartford is safe." 

"I don't think Hartford will ever be safe with the two of you residing there," Vaughn countered. Now, back to the niceties. "What have you bought so far?"

To share or not to share? He gave her a once over, to see what she was wearing. His gaze lingered on her snug blue sweater and sighed. She had good taste, he had to give her that. He pulled out the leather jacket from the bag and handed it to her. "What do you think?"

She ran her hands over the material. She loved leather. "Very nice." Vaughn held the jacket against him. "Very nice indeed. You shock me with your good taste, Monty."

He cringed as she giggled. "Don't ever call me that again, _Skye_. And I've always had good taste, sweetheart. You've just never realized it." 

Her lips went into a pout for a moment, at the use of that particular wretched nickname, before a smile returned to her lips. "Don't lie to me, I have pictures that was totally prove you wrong."

"Oh no, anything but those." He widened his eyes in mock horror, actually enjoying the banter. Then he clucked his tongue and took the jacket back from her hands. "I wouldn't be so eager to bring those pictures out, Schuyler. I do remember a certain seven-year-old in a tutu."

This made her grin even wider. "So do I." 

"Hey, that was all Nick and Ronnie," he replied quickly, wagging a finger at her. "I thought you promised me you would never talk about it again. You swore on that…what was the name of that old ratty bear you had? Buttercup or something…" 

"Buttercup," Vaughn nodded, she was rather uncreative at the age of seven, and named her most treasured stuffed animal after, who at the time she considered, the greatest movie heroine of all time. "Technically, I didn't mention it. Technically I only mentioned I had a picture of it."

"Whatever," he said rolling his eyes and little annoyed that he remembered Buttercup and was happy to be talking to her when he was still pissed. He ran a hand through his hair and looked around wildly for his roommate. "God, DuGrey shops like a girl."

She cuffed him on the shoulder. "Maybe he has a reason for all this shopping. He could be not enjoying it."

"Whatever the reason, I need to go find him before he starts flirting with the girl at the cash register." He grinned wildly as he dragged her towards the store he had last been with Tristan in. "I saw her first and I don't trust DuGrey to let an opportunity pass on getting her phone number." 

"You're bringing me with you while you pick up a girl?" Damn, did her voice just squeak? And was her face turning red? Because it felt slightly hot.

He looked at her oddly. "Well, someone's gotta get DuGrey out of there while I work my magic." 

"And you expect me to…help you?"

"Well, yes," he answered only belatedly realizing how implausible that was. But when they got to the store, Tristan was nowhere to be seen and a bored and unattractive bleach-blonde male had replaced the cute redhead at the cash register. Just his luck. He looked down at Schuyler and sighed. "Looks like I'm stuck with you." 

Well, he didn't have to sound so sour about it. "Why?"

Cole didn't know why. After all, she was the one who had approached him and she could have left at any given time. He looked down at the wrist he was still holding between his hands. He laughed a little awkwardly. "Well, because I seem to be glued to your wrist." He immediately dropped her hand as if it were a hot potato and stuff his hand in his pockets.

Vaughn awkwardly stuffed her hands into the back pocket of her jeans. "And now that the problem is amended?"

"Well, you can go look for your roommate who is probably wondering where you are and I can go look for mine to see if he took the redhead out for coffee," Cole joked with a light laugh. "Or we could both go and look for Rory and see what surprise she has in store."

"Whatever you want to do." Though Vaughn wasn't quite sure how Rory wanted to expose her surprise. Huh.

What did he want? If only he knew. "Well, knowing Tristan and Rory's track record, they probably already bumped into each other."

"So does that mean we should or should not seek them out then?"

They probably would last longer together if Tristan and Rory were there to smooth out their violent tendencies. "Sure."

She frowned, it was sort of sad that they didn't seem to have the ability to stay alone together for long peacefully. "I think I'm going to go."

"No," he said quickly and grabbed her upper arm as she turned to leave and he wasn't quite sure why he didn't want her to go. No one confused him more than Schuyler Vaughn Claymore. "Don't. Stay. We'll go."

He did this on purpose, Vaughn was quite certain of this. All this…confusion that swirled around inside of her. His entire fault, and the bastard probably knew it too. "Okay."

He'd upset her or something. Cole didn't know he had the ability. He let go of her arm and raised his hand in a gesture that said 'lead the way'. "Let's go and see what trouble our roommates have gotten into now." To bring back civility he grinned and added, "did you hear about the almost skinny dipping?"

"Who almost skinny dipped?"

Right. Rory hadn't shared. "Tristan and Rory. He came to our room all wet and looking like a man who had just gotten laid. Which he didn't."

Vaughn couldn't explain why (or just wanted to deny it), but her face felt rather warm, and she was rather certain she was blushing. She hated him; it had to be a fact by now. "Oh."

"What?" he said with a teasing smile. Banter was always safe, always easy. "Did I offend your delicate sensibilities?"

He had a nice smile. A great, melting smile. She wished she hadn't noticed. "No more than you usually do."

"Oh right, Catholic boarding school."

There really was nothing to respond to that. Since, it was pretty much the truth. "Guess so."

They were heading in the general direction of mall's food court when a familiar voice called their names and he turned to see Rory waving them over to a table. He turned to Schuyler with an eyebrow raised as they walked towards their friends. "Are those highlights?" 

"Wow, you can differentiate between colors," Vaughn commented, feeling a bit more like herself than she had throughout this entire exchange. "Congratulations."

"Down tiger," Rory stated as she saw the scowl on Cole's face, as they joined Tristan and her at the table. She slid over her basket of fries in his direction. "Have a fry." 

"Are you offering me food?" Cole joked with her and then tugged at her blonde highlights. "Those look nice, by the way."

"Very nice," Vaughn agreed, stealing one of the fries, despite the fact that she hadn't been offered one. "Almost makes me think I should get them done."

Cole couldn't picture her any other way than strawberry blonde.

"Don't touch your hair," Rory commanded and kicked Tristan in the shin under the table. "She should leave it like that, right?"

"Uh yeah," Tristan put down his burger, and readily agreed. Though, truthfully, he didn't see what the big deal was. It was just hair. Though, Rory's did look great. Really great. "Keep it pinkish-red."

Vaughn rolled her eyes, "You're one of those guys who are completely useless when they have food in front of them. Aren't you?"

"Absolutely." He picked his burger up again.

"Tristan is pretty much useless always," Rory said rolling her eyes and then sticking her tongue out at him.

It was a good thing his mother had instilled him with good manners. So it was that which kept him from sticking his tongue back at her, mouth full of food and all.

"So is Cole. Guess that makes a more universal guy thing," Vaughn told Rory.

"Yeah, let's see who'll change the tires and get rid of the vermin without us," Cole remarked with a snort.

Rory guffawed. "Like either of you have ever changed a tire."

"Montgomery use to change the tires on his own private go-carts when we were younger," Vaughn spoke up, before grinning wickedly. "Of course, he use to try and replace them with his mother's precious family heirloom china. Evelyn didn't like that very much."

"Excuse me, but I think it was you who actually snuck the china out of the house," Cole said, jabbing his finger in her upper arm and then turned to Rory and Tristan to explain. "She was so small, it was easy to get past, Mother."

"He paid me money," Vaughn shrugged.

"Because you started pinching me. She had sharp nails." He lifted her hands and examined the cuticles. "Still does." 

"I like money," she stated simply.

Tristan watched this exchanged with interest. So this was what it must have been life for them as children. He could almost see…dare he think it? Sparks. "It's why the rich get richer, Vaughn."

Rory sipped her Coke and watched as Vaughn discreetly tugged her hands out of Cole's and then, folded them nonchalantly on her lap. Smirking inwardly, she adopted an innocent expression. "So, what else did you guys do together?" 

"What do you mean?" Cole asked, brows drawn together.

"Well, you two were obviously close. You sound like you did everything together." 

"Our parents were close, they encouraged it," Vaughn wrinkled her nose. "But, to answer your question, I broke Cole's nose, and he broke my arm. At different times, of course."

"You two sound like my parents who have broken a lot of things together," Rory piped with a grin. "They were best friends."

"Interesting how life turns out for some people," Vaughn mumbled, sinking down in the chair.

"I think if there's that much history in a relationship of any kind; it's a terrible thing to waste. Don't you agree Tristan?" Rory asked as she kicked him under the table.

Tristan coughed, feeling very much the abused boyfriend, except without the title. "Terrible."

Cole glanced quickly at Schuyler who was suddenly interested in the material of her sweater and didn't look up. He sighed and glanced back at Rory, who was all smiles. "So, uh, anyone want a refill?" 


	16. Chapter 16: And it's like the ocean unde...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

**Dedication**: To Gracie for lighting a fire under our lazy asses. 

Chapter 16: And it's like the ocean under the moon

Stars Hollow hadn't changed much; in fact, it was in the exact state she had left it in. Luke and Taylor still fought. Miss Patty flirted and taught dance classes. Babette and Morey still lived next door. Sookie and Jackson were still…well, Sookie and Jackson. Everyone had fretted over her highlights and pampered her, making her homecoming complete.

"It's good to be home," Rory told Paris Gellar over the phone. "Even if it's for a little while."

Rory could speak for herself, Paris was already longing for the halls of Harvard. "How's Yale? You've been to Harvard before, how does it compare?"

Rory rolled her eyes and settled back against her pillows. Leave it to Paris to make everything into a competition. "It's college, Paris. They're both equally great."

"What about the people?" Paris watched the maids scurrying to clean the house for the upcoming holiday out of the corner of her eye. "I'm sure you have a million friends already."

"Uh, have you forgotten me already?" she answered, grinning. "The only reason I made friends was because my roommate's cool and she knows the roommate of the only other person I know in Yale and we're this little anti-social group…and I'm probably confusing you."

"So elucidate," Paris sighed. It was a good thing she and her roommate rarely saw each other. If they did, they probably wouldn't get along very well. "Help me through this, I'm sure it's not that complicated."

Rory took in a deep breath. "Tristan DuGrey goes to Yale." 

"Oh." Her gaze wandered over to the maids again. "Well, it's expected, after all. Five generations of DuGreys have gone."

"It would have been nice if someone told me that." She laughed lightly. She wasn't sure if Paris still hated Tristan or had gotten past it but knowing the unpredictable blonde it could very well be either. "Well, anyway, his roommate – Cole, and my roommate, Schuyler, know each other from way back. Tristan kinda dated Schuyler and Cole and I went out on a date and now we're all kind of friends."

"How very WB of you all," Paris commented. "Jess came down there, didn't he?"

Immediately, Rory's gaze fell on the picture of her ex, thumb tacked on her corkboard. "Yeah, he did. It was nice. He told me the two of you hung out." 

"We didn't really know anyone else in Boston," Paris stumbled over the words slightly, feeling as if she had to explain it, although, she wasn't sure why. "Where is your roommate from?"

The hitch in Paris' voice didn't go unnoticed by Rory but she let it slide, not knowing what to think of it just yet. "The Big Apple, upper West side. Do you know the Claymores?" 

"Roger Claymore?" Paris asked. "The Broadway producer?"

"The one and only. Isn't it cool?"

Rory was so easily impressed. "I guess. Brad Langford has a small part in Claymore's musical this spring."

She smiled and waved to her mother who passed by. "Aw, Paris, you're keeping tabs on Brad! I thought you hated him!"

"Actually Madeline spilled it to me the moment I got in. She was dying to tell someone, and Louise isn't coming home until tomorrow."

Lorelai was gesturing wildly and confused, Rory bit her bottom lip. "Par, I think mom's having a nervous breakdown. Wanna catch a movie or something tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure." Anything to get out of this house.

"Alright, noon at the mall. Bye Paris." Rory hung up and wandered into the kitchen, wondering what was up with her mother. "Mom, why are you going crazy?"

"Miss Patty hired a new cleaning boy for her dance studio," Lorelai explained. "And he's raking Babette's leaves. In a tight tee. I feel slightly pedophilish standing out there, drooling. So go gawk for Mommy."

Normally, Rory would roll her eyes. Today, after coming home from the 'real world' (whatever that was) she felt a surge of comfort that was making her oddly happy. Oh how she missed this. She threw her arms around Lorelai and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. "I'll go drool over the cute boy, Mom."

"Would you like a camera? You know, to bring the pictures back so you can make all the other girls jealous that you have a cute leave-raker while they're stuck with…um, Guido the short, fat guy."

She smiled, thinking of Vaughn. Cole was definitely no Guido. "That's okay, Mom. I don't want to go over the top with the staring."

"At this rate, you'll never get your first restraining order before the age of twenty-one," Lorelai looked down with mock sadness. "And that was my goal for you."

The phone rang and Rory pushed Lorelai in its direction. "My goal for you is to answer the phone. Let's see if you can find it without me, as you've been claiming to do for the past month or two."

Lorelai sighed, and dug through the mass of magazines on the coffee-table before coming in contact with the ringing object. "Hello?"

Tristan was thrown off a little, the woman sounded like she was out of breath. "Uh, hi, may I speak to Rory?"

"She's currently admiring the male form," Lorelai answered. "May I take a message?"

Furrowing his brow in confusion, Tristan sighed. "Uh, can you tell her Tristan called?"

"Mom?" Rory yelled from the doorway. "Who is it?" 

Lorelai waved off her daughter's question, and spoke into the phone. "Do you still want to talk to her?"

Confused, Tristan answered, "Yes, that would be nice."

"It's for you then," Lorelai directed this at Rory, and handed it over to her. 

Rory tucked her hair behind her ear before placing the telephone against it. "Hello?"

"Hey," Tristan greeted back, happy that the confusion that was Lorelai Gilmore had been replaced with the saner one with the same name. "How's your break going so far?"

_It's good to hear his voice again_, she thought surprising herself and then, immediately disgusted with herself thought, _God Rory, clingy much?_ "Pretty much normal. Or as normal as you can get in Stars Hollow. Yours?"

_Cold, distant and suffocating_, he thought almost bitterly. Out loud however, he mimicked her response.  "Pretty much normal." 

"How's Cole liking Hartford?" Rory stretched on the couch, resting her hand against the pillow and pulling an afghan over her.

Tristan's gaze wandered over to his roommate and houseguest, lounging on the sofa and looking bored as he watched _Days Of Our Lives. Thank God his cousin promised to get them into a club tonight, with booze and girls in short skirts. "He's says it's better than the Montgomery mansion but that's not saying much."_

"Ain't that the truth?" he muttered from the sofa and then smiled a little. "Is that Rory? Tell her I say hi." 

Rory heard him and smiled. "Tell him 'hi' back."

"Why don't I just hand him the phone and you two can be sappy as long as you like?"

She didn't miss the slight tartness in his voice and furrowed her brows. "I, uh, that's okay. Are _you okay?"_

Tristan sighed and ran a hand through his hair, cursing himself for taking out his frustrations on her. He'd be okay if he could just get out of the freaking mansion. Sunset could not come soon enough. "Sorry about that. I get restless easily."

"So I've noticed." She grinned and snuggled into the couch again. "Well, I'm meeting Paris at the Hartford mall tomorrow. At noon. You guys are welcomed to join us."

He hadn't seen Paris Gellar since his last night in Chilton as she stormed away from, angry as hell. He grinned a little; he always loved seeing her pissed. It was an endless source of amusement. Although, if they went clubbing, there was chance they'd be hung over. But then again, he really wanted to see Rory…"That sounds like a great idea. We'll be there."

She smiled, this time almost giddily at the prospect of seeing him again. "I'll see you then."

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

"Whoa, loosen the death grip Gilmore," Paris gritted out as they pulled apart. Rory's smile was contagious and she found herself beaming back. "Glad to know I was missed."

"Horribly," the brunette teased as they turned into the entrance of the mall. People rushed by and Rory took in the scent of greasy pizza, perfume and brewing coffee. "And just so you know, we're meeting some people."

Paris's eyes narrowed. "What people?"

"Tristan and Cole," she said quickly, biting her lower lip. "You don't mind, do you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Like I have a choice."

"Aw, come on Paris," Rory whined as they sat down on a bench near the fountain. "You and Tristan go way back. And Cole is very nice. It's not like I'm asking you to have hang out with Sadam Hussein." 

"What? Where?" a familiar voice joked and Rory looked up to see Cole and Tristan approaching, smiles on their faces. She chuckled as she stood up and hugged Cole. "Hey there Gilmore, what's with the touchy feely business?" 

"She's just chock full of holiday cheer," Paris muttered as she reluctantly stood up, facing Tristan. She regarded him coolly and almost snapped at him when she saw the hint of a smirk tug at his lips. "Tristan."

Now he grinned, full-fledged. "Paris. Is that any way to greet an old friend?" 

"I'm all hugged out," she returned dryly.

Tristan nodded, still a little amused by her reluctance to let the past go. He'd give her time; it worked with her countless times before. He turned to Rory, who was excitedly blabbing about her holidays to Cole. She then turned to him and their eyes connected. His pulse tripped. _Every time, without fail, he thought with a wry laugh. "Hey Rory." _

She smiled back, stepping closer to him and he had to stop himself from leaning down and kissing her lips. "Hey Tristan." 

Paris cleared he throat as she rolled her eyes at the sickening scene in front of her. It wasn't because she was jealous. She knew that much by now. No, she was disgusted with Tristan because he was right where he started, only this time Rory seemed to be there too. And they were still oblivious about it. Or pretending to be.

"I think the blonde's getting antsy," Cole commented and broke up the chattering non-couple. He then smiled as he extended his hand. "Cole Montgomery."  

"Charmed," she stated formally although she smiled back. There was no need to take out her anger at Tristan on his hot friend. "Paris Gellar." 

"Harvard, right? You might have had the misfortune to run into a certain classmate of mine from school. A Jamie DuVille." When Paris made a horrified face, he nodded grimly. "I pity you, I truly do."

"You were friends with that scum?"

"I don't make friends with scum, Paris," he stated as the four of them started walking away from the fountain and into the foray of holiday shoppers. 

Paris shuddered and followed Tristan and Rory into the food court. "I'm glad. He hit on me the first day of classes."

"Did you take a bath immediately afterwards?" When she nodded vigorously, he sighed. "Smart girl." 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

"See, we all had fun," Rory said as the four them exited the theatre, later that afternoon. 

Cole snorted as he threw his empty soda into a nearby container. "Speak for yourself, Rory. I had no desire to see Hugh Grant." 

"But you enjoyed it," Paris countered with a grin. "I saw you smiling. The both of you."

Tristan was glad that she was addressing him now that they'd spent most of the afternoon together. He shrugged, "Keira Knightley's hot." 

Rory rolled her eyes and smacked him lightly on the arm. "That's so…_you_."

"Aw, c'mon Gilmore," he teased, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "You know that's what you adore most about me."

"Yes," she deadpanned as they headed out of the mall, following Cole and Paris towards the parking lot. "I just love it when you drool over other women." 

Grinning, he stopped walking and leaned down and brushed his lips close to her ear so he could whisper, "There's no need for jealousy, sweetheart. None of the others even compare." 

The blood was rushing to her cheeks and other more interesting parts of her body as his warm breath tickled her ear and she had to repress a delicious shudder. Instead, she adopted a bored expression. "They can have you." 

"Ouch," he stated dramatically and brought his fist to his heart. "Your words hurt." 

"Hey Joni and Chachi!" Paris barked from where she was leaning against her car, Cole watching them in amusement. "You two done?" 

Rory laughed and shielded her eyes with a hand, against the sun behind him. "I better go before she has a heart attack. She's going to drop me off at my grandparents." 

"Alright," he replied, pocketing his hands deep in his jeans. That way he could check the urge to pull her to him. "I'll call you tomorrow or something." 

She nodded and then on pure impulse, placed her hands on his chest and rose to her tip-toes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek but her aim was off and it landed on the corner of his mouth. When he tensed, she closed her eyes and counted to three before pulling away and managing a bright, unaffected smile. "Bye." 


	17. Chapter 17: Because I wanna know how you...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

**Dedication**: To Cathy, for making us feel special with her wallpaper.

Chapter 17: Because I wanna know how you wanna feel

Vaughn hadn't taken much with her when she had left for Thanksgiving break. It wasn't necessary. After all, she wasn't in short supply of clothes or entertainment at her father's penthouse. So she had pretty much brought whatever homework she had due with her. It was an easy walk back to her dorm room, suffice to say.  
  
She opened the door, and to her surprise her roommate was already there. "Well, this is unexpected."

"Vaughn!" Rory exclaimed as she turned to see her roommate at the door, backpack slung over her shoulder. She ambled over and enveloped her in a hug. "How was your Thanksgiving?"

"It was okay," Vaughn brushed the strawberry blonde curls away from her face. "Yours?"

"Great," she replied enthusiastically as she sat down on her bed. Except for the Tristan almost-kiss thing which had sent her into a spaz attack that Lorelai and Lane had found completely amusing. "And kinda not." 

That was surprising. Vaughn set her backpack down at the end of her bed. "What happened?"

She twisted the sleeve of her sweater in her fingers, looking down at the floor. "I kinda kissed Tristan. On the mouth. Well, not on the mouth. I was aiming for the cheek and I kinda…missed."

Laughter accidentally burst from her lips, and she covered her mouth with the sleeve of her sweater. "I'm sorry. Are you sure you really were aiming for the cheek?"

Lane had asked her the same question, with the same look of amusement on her face and Rory had given her the same answer, "Yes! I meant to kiss the cheek. It was an impulse. Don't mock me! I'm mortified enough as it is. I kissed him. On the mouth. _Tristan_!" She remembered the tingly feeling that had crept through her at the intimate touch of his lips. The feeling that had stayed with her all day, after that. "It wasn't the first time I kissed him." 

Oops, she hadn't meant to let that slip.

Vaughn's violet eyes widened. "Oh really? When was this first time?"

"High school. At a party," she answered, biting her lower lip. "But that happened because we were miserable and alone."

"Uh huh," she nodded. She probably wasn't going to get much further with this questioning, once Rory was in denial over something. "What else happened during the holiday?"

 "The usual. Mom and I watched movies, ate junk food and harassed townspeople." A wicked thought entered her mind that belied the innocent smile she aimed at her roommate. "Oh and Paris and Cole flirted like there was no tomorrow. They disappeared for hours…I don't even want to think about what they were doing."

Well naturally, if there was a girl....then Cole would find a way to whore himself out to her. "Isn't Paris your insanely prudish friend or at least uptight?"

Rory frowned inwardly. Paris wasn't exactly the go-to-girl when you needed to make another girl jealous. "Yes, she is. But it's Cole. Who can resist that smile?"

"Anyone with a brain?" Vaughn ventured. Then she remembered. "Oh, sorry."

She waved it off and curled her legs under her. "Vaughn, come on. You'd have to be blind or well, gay, to think Cole isn't good looking." 

"You'd have to be superficial to think that's all that matters," Vaughn countered, folding her arms. She was stubborn on this issue of not admitting anything good about Cole. She liked it that way.

Rory shook her head and smirked. A habit she was picking up from Tristan, no doubt. "This isn't a question about how deep I am. This is about you and the fact that you find Cole attractive. And that eats you up." 

"I'll get over it," she nodded her head. "Like the flu. Its hell when it's there, but it goes away after three to seven days."

"Stubborn as a mule," Rory shot back and then sighed. "He's a good guy. And whatever happened between you two that gets you so worked up whenever his name is mentioned is something that needs to be solved. Don't you think?"

Vaughn pretended to consider it for a brief...very brief moment. "No." She paused. "Though I was thinking that we need to expand our group. Four is an awful small number, don't you think?"

Living with Lorelai, Rory sensed the urge in Vaughn's voice to change the subject almost immediately. She would let it drop, for now. "I'm comfortable with small numbers. Makes it easier to remember names."

"I'm not talking like twenty to thirty people. Just a few. Six people would be another nice, even number."

"Well, do you have someone in mind? Someone in need of a social life and who'd want to associate in any way with Tristan DuGrey?"

"DuGrey can be a very powerful name, especially in Connecticut," she reminded her. "But we're hot. I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult."

Rory shrugged. She was open to making new friends, although she was quite comfortable with their little dysfunctional quartet. "Why not? If Dawson, Joey, Pacey and Jen could do it, so can we."

She shook her head. "The point is so we won't become as incestual as them."

"Duly noted." She stretched. "Have you had lunch yet?"

"Not yet. You want to go out?"

"Sure."

~*~

Cole spotted the strawberry hair from a mile away and swore softly. Did she have some kind of radar or something when it came to him? Yale was a big school, how the hell did they manage to bump into each other so often? He put down his burger and sighed, preparing mentally for Claymore's acerbic wit. As she and Rory approached his table, he desperately wished DuGrey was there. Schuyler was so much tamer when he was around. "Hey Gilmore. Cruella." 

Vaughn really hated Disney movies. She wondered what would irritate Montgomery the most. 

"Hey Cole." She smiled at him as she slid into the seat next to him. "I heard you had a nice vacation."

If it was anyone else, he would have felt bad for being so mean but this was Schuyler Vaughn and she was just doing it to tick him off even more. He gave her a sweet smile and wrapped an arm around her in fake camaraderie. "That's because you weren't there, darling."

"Okay you two," Rory cut in, when she saw Vaughn's eyes narrow, "back into your respective corners. Can't you two be civil for even a little while?"

Her lips went into a pout, "I was being civil. He was the one that decided to be an ass." When they were children, Vaughn had been very good at placing blame on Cole. It wasn't difficult, since it usually was his fault anyway.

"I can't help it, Claymore. You just bring out the worst in me." 

Rory rolled her eyes and wondered if anyone else in the cafeteria could feel the unresolved sexual tension radiating off her two friends. Grinning a little, she reached for a fry off of Cole's plate when she noticed a familiar pair of lips coming her way. Of course, those lips were attached to a head that was attached to a body but it was the lips her eyes zeroed in on. Speaking of unresolved sexual tension… 

"Hey Tristan!" she stated a little too perkily. 

Karma was such a well-deserved bitch. If Rory thought she was going to enjoy her and Cole's discomfort, then Tristan came over. It was wonderful. "Hey DuGrey."

"Rory," he bit back a smirk at her greeting. It probably wouldn't be right to pick on her. Especially if he wanted another kiss. One that didn't make her cry, or was cast off as a mistake from movement. "Hey Vaughn. Cole."

"Come, join us," Cole gestured to the empty spot next to Rory. "Scoot over, Gilmore." 

Rory shifted an inch and Tristan sat down, his leg brushing against hers as he did so. She yelped slightly and knocked over her unopened can of soda. Vaughn laughed knowingly and she kicked her under the table. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything," Vaughn defended herself.

"What's going on?" Cole asked, eternally clueless.

"Nothing," Rory replied, quickly glancing at Tristan to make sue he wasn't smirking. Luckily enough, he seemed as in the dark as Cole. "I'm just jumpy."

Rory made it awfully hard for him to not smirk or laugh at her. It was endearing and frustrating at the same time. "Vacations are supposed to relax people, Gilmore."

Vaughn shook her head, "Not when they have to be spent in company with Montgomery." Oops, there went her plan to be nice.

Cole smirked. "That's not what Paris Gellar would say."

"Well from what I've heard about Paris Gellar, it wouldn't seem as if she would know any better."

Rory leaned closer to Tristan and whispered. "He didn't really do anything with Paris, right?"

Tristan frowned, wondering why she cared. Maybe she still liked Cole. "He didn't say anything to me."

Rory's eyes widened as she glanced at the bickering pair in front of her. "Paris wouldn't, right? I mean, she's not his type."

Maybe maybe wasn't such a maybe anymore. Or maybe he just needed to stop thinking, because his thoughts were turning ridiculous. "I don't know his type."

"Duh, Tristan!" she exclaimed in a whisper. "Schuyler. That's his type. Are you completely blind? They're totally hot for each other."

"Hot to kill each other, maybe."

"Everything my mother told me about boys is coming true for me in this moment," Rory stated, letting out a heavy sigh. "You're hopeless and frankly, I'm disappointed. The bickering? The evil glares? All UST."

"What's UST?" Tristan asked, his voice accidentally slipping from a whisper to…well, what could be heard by anyone nearby.

"Who's got UST?" Cole asked suddenly, more interested in what Rory and Tristan were talking about rather than having to listen to Schuyler talk. "Is it like BO?"

"You have BO," Vaughn muttered, eyeing Tristan and Rory oddly.

Cole decided to ignore her in hope of her disappearing altogether. "Hey Gilmore, answer the question."

Rory sighed and suddenly Vaughn's idea of mixing up her social circle didn't seem that bad. "UST is unresolved sexual tension."

"Oh." Now Tristan got what she was talking about. And he couldn't resist, "Do you have it?"

Vaughn snorted.

Cole bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the horrified expression on her face. So much for not incriminating herself.

Rory's cheeks grew hot and she glared at him. "Not likely." 

"I'm not sure I believe you," Tristan told her, leaning a bit closer.

Vaughn wondered if this was the part where she should leave so Rory could get that problem resolved. Most likely. She stood up. "Cole, walk me back to the dorms."

"Wha - ?" he asked. And miss out on the action? "I'm not done with my lunch yet." 

"There's food in my room." Well, that wasn't exactly what she had meant to say.

Much more tempting, a voice jeered at him. Oh well. He was nothing if not a slave to his stomach. He pushed back, causing the chair to scrape against the linoleum. "Lead on, Claymore. DuGrey, Gilmore, try and keep it PG."

This time Tristan didn't even resist a smirk, "You too."

Vaughn flipped him off before she walked away.

"Oh God," Rory said as she sunk lower into her chair. How the hell did she get from setting up Cole and Vaughn to being alone with Tristan who obviously was not going to forget about her silly, stupid, aimless kiss? "I need new friends."

"No, I think it's complicated enough with just the four of us."

"I don't like complicated." Great, now she was whining. "I'm a small town girl. We only do things simply." 

"I've been to Stars Hollow," Tristan reminded her. "I know that's a lie."

"Oh so now you know me?" she bit out, a little too harshly. He stared at her for a second and she looked away. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that."

"UST?" he ventured. Tristan figured he'd be lucky to get out alive at this lunch.

Despite herself, her mouth reluctantly turned upwards. Incorrigible to the core. She glanced up at him, letting her eyes lock with his own amused ones. Hell, why was she even fighting this? "Yeah maybe." 

Well okay, that was an unexpected answer. Now, how did he handle this without screwing it up? "Really?"

She turned her body towards him, leaned in a little closer and shrugged. As long as she was on this bold streak… "We won't know if we don't try, right? I mean, only if you want to..."

Like there was any question of him wanting to. He had wanted Rory Gilmore starting in the tenth grade. Nothing in that department had changed. "Do you want to go somewhere?"

Her eyes widened in alarm. Maybe he had the wrong idea. "Like now? Or later…for dinner or something?"

"How about for dinner?" Tristan was praying he wasn't going to screw this up. It'd always been baby steps with Rory Gilmore.

"Dinner yes. We'd get hungry. Eventually. So yeah," she rambled and turned back to her lunch, taking a quick sip of her soda to calm her nerves. "Um, so this is like a date right?" 

He felt confident enough to say this, "Exactly like a date."

She nodded and stared straight ahead. Jesus Christ. 


	18. Chapter 18: You taste like honey, honey

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan

**Dedication**:Toeveryone still reading this fic! We appreciate the feedback!

Chapter 18: You taste like honey, honey

"Food, Schuyler Vaughn," Cole demanded as he strode into her room behind the blonde. She flopped down on her bed and merely raised an eyebrow – her way of saying 'go to hell, schmuck'. He tried to ignore the creamy expanse of skin that was exposed to him that very moment as her shirt rode up her stomach. Then - to torture him, he was sure – she raised her arms above her head and stretched languidly. _Concentrate on your other basic needs, Cole_. "You promised food, Claymore. I'm not starving because you decided to play matchmaker for our blind, clueless friends."

"I said there was food in my room," she sighed and rolled over on her stomach. "You can get it yourself; it's under Rory's bed. And, while you're at it, you could turn on the CD player." Any sort of distraction around Cole Montgomery would be nice. Especially when they were alone in a bedroom together. Damn Rory and her UST thoughts.

He shook his head and then dropped to the floor to look under Rory's bed. He reached in a pulled out a bag of Cheetos and a box of Twinkies. "Schuyler Vaughn, this isn't food. I need meat and grease and cheese. I'm a growing boy."

"I'll tell you where we keep the meat if you turn on the stereo," she told him with a smile. Vaughn felt herself growing flirtatious and that was odd. But it was Montgomery, and there was no danger in baiting him, even if it was a different kind of bait. Nothing would come of it.

Flirting came naturally to Cole, no matter who was on the receiving end of it. He leaned back against Rory's bed and smiled. He let his eyes move slowly, lazily down her body – taking extra time on the swell of her breasts - and then back up to rest on her own, darkening gaze. "Don't bother. I know where you keep it, Skye."

Her nose wrinkled at the nickname, before her features smoothed out. Really, no one knew how to annoy her more than he did. "Does this mean you're interested in having a conversation with me then, Cole?"

Ruffled her feathers, did he? He decided to test how tightly he could wind her up. "Conversation," he conceded with a shrug, stretching his legs in front of him. "Or anything else that requires the use of our lips."

Without meaning to her, the tip of her tongue came out and wet her lips. "Sounds creative."

She was in unusual form this afternoon. It was probably all that stupid UST talk Rory had started. He kept his eyes on her, however, grinning crookedly. "Come closer and I'll show you how creative."

Vaughn rolled over onto her back and wondered what they were actually doing before pushing the thought away. "Oh no, I'm far too lazy for to go over there. You'll have to work for it." She wasn't even sure what she was talking about any more. Certainly not that. Or maybe a little of that. Maybe going away on break had messed her up in the head.

Cole shook his head a little. He should have known she'd be a tease about it. He just wondered if she was good for the follow-through. He got up and went to her bed, sitting down beside her, careful not to touch her just yet. "Alright. I met you more than half way. Do you agree?"

Vaughn blinked and looked up at him. Her breath catching just a little as her body and brain started to register his proximity. This was weird, this feeling. She had felt this feeling before, but never with him which was weird, because they had been this close before. But they had been, like, nine. And this was definitely a different experience. And much more...compelling? Whatever, it was, it caused her to raise herself up on her elbows and nod. "Okay."

From this close up, with those kissable lips and violet eyes, Cole could forget just how annoying Schuyler could be. Instead she was just really…hot. His gaze dropped to her lips and he had to fight to keep his wits about him. There was still a power struggle underneath the tension that was cackling around them. This was all just a game to her, he had to remember that. "Remember when we were nine?"

Confusion clouded her eyes. "Nine?" She had kind of forgotten anything but this moment since her eyes had locked down on his lips. "Why?"

"Nicky had locked us in my room one hot, summer afternoon and the entire house was empty? No one heard us screaming or banging on the door," he reminded her gently, laughing a little. "And he turned off the central air conditioner? You don't remember?"

She shook her head. "Not really."

Cole didn't know why he was hurt that she had forgotten. That afternoon had been fun after they had given up trying to get out of the room. They had opened the windows and played video games and watched movies, pigging out on the stash of food he kept in his room. "It was a good day, minus the heat. We went to the carnival at night after we were let out. I think I won you something…"

Vaughn's mouth fell open as memories flooded her. "It was a stuffed unicorn. It was orange."

He leaned back on his elbows and gave her a sideways look. "It was ugly as hell. You named it something equally revolting."

"I named it Cole." Vaughn stuck her tongue out at him.

"Only because you loved it so much," he shot back at her. "You carried it everywhere."

"I needed something handy for when I wanted to take my frustration out on something," she smiled sweetly. "And to not get in trouble for it."

"Knew you liked it rough," he said, winking.

"Only with you, Montgomery." And then she realized how that sounded and she couldn't stop the blush from creeping up to her face.

He chuckled slightly and brought his face a little closer to hers. "Don't I feel special?"

"Um…" Vaughn was smart. Really, she had even gotten into Yale. So she was. But at this moment, she honestly couldn't think of a single intelligent thing to say, so she just kissed him. And that probably disapproved her earlier thoughts about the fact that she was smart, but he was so close...and so kissable...and so _Cole_. And it was weird. But she just had to kiss him or mumble something stupid, and the former seemed much more appealing.

Okay, so this was what it was like to have the wind knocked right out of him. He knew that they had been flirting and hinting, but he would never have imagined Schuyler would actually kiss him. Not that he was complaining. In fact, the instant her lips touched his, he curled one hand behind her neck while his other went to her hip, encouraging her to come closer so that she was almost on top of him. She complied and with the new angle, he deepened the kiss, excitement and heat coursing through him when she moaned softly.

This was so much better than anything his imagination could have conjured up.

It was a good kiss. Better than any kiss she had ever been given, or at least it had to be since Vaughn couldn't really remember any other kisses at this moment. And the fact that his tongue was distracting her from the fact that it was attached to Cole Montgomery was rather disconcerting. Maybe this is how the whole mess with her mother and his father had started. The thought was a wake up call. Because of all people to model her behavior after, her mother was really on the bottom of the list. And she had worked way too hard to avoid such a thing. So she placed the palm of her hand on his shoulder and pushed him away, and gasped as their lips broke contact.

Cole was glad that she broke the kiss, he was rapidly forgetting the fact that they needed to breathe. Panting heavily, he remained still and watched the various emotions play across Schuyler's face, relieved that disgust wasn't one of them. Barely being able to speak, he whispered, "Schuyler…"

She shook her head. "I have…" Her voice trailed off. She didn't know what she had to do. But she had the greatest urge to run and hide in her brother's house until Cole had graduated from Yale and moved away. It wasn't a typical reaction from her that was more like something her roommate would. "I…am going to go."

She wasn't going to go hide. But being somewhere other than alone in the room with him seemed like a very good idea at the moment.

Okay, not the reaction he was expecting. Exasperated, he sat up as she hurriedly got off her bed. "This is your room."

So it was. "Okay, you can go then."

He ran a hand through his hair and looked at her incredulously. "You're kicking me out?"

"Well, you wouldn't let me kick myself out." Oh God, she was growing inane. "So, yes, leave." Vaughn paused, and then added, "Please."

"Un-frickin'-believable," he muttered, extremely pissed off as Vaughn walked to the door and opened it for him to leave. Cole shook his head and tried to grasp onto sanity before he exploded. The girl hated him when he mocked and annoyed her and she was kicking him out when he kissed her…he should've known. "Fine, I'll go."

He grabbed her waist and then hauled her to him to crush his lips against hers in a fierce kiss before pushing her aside and stalking out of the room, cursing.

- & -

Being on a date with Tristan was much better than being on a date with Cole. This wasn't to say that Cole was a bad date but with him, Rory was simply comfortable in his presence and totally relaxed, like she was when she was with Vaughn.

With Tristan, she was…uncomfortable. But in a really good way.

She blushed when he looked at her, intensely while they ate dinner. Smiled when he complimented her dress. And they slipped easily into their routine banter as they strolled around the Yale campus, debating, bickering, interspersed with perfect companionable silence.

"Are you going home for Christmas?" Rory asked suddenly, mindlessly.

He looked at her oddly. "That's the plan. Unless I can find a way to stay here undetected or Cole takes pity on me and I go to New York with him."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "You'd really rather spend Christmas, alone, on campus than go home to your family?"

Tristan shrugged, hands deep in his pocket. He did like spending Christmas with his grandparents, they're gifts were always extravagant and worth the crap of a DuGrey family holiday. "There's a lot of drama on Christmas. I think my parents might get divorced."

Wow, he thought, he hadn't told anyone that.

Her eyes softened and she titled her head to the side. "Oh Tristan, I'm sorry."

He shook his head, avoiding her sympathy in her eyes. "No, it's a good thing. My parents have hurt each other too much, for too long. I think it's the right thing for them and one of them finally had the guts to do something about it."

Rory wondered why she'd never known about this Tristan. The mature, aware, Tristan. "But I'm sure that it's still painful for you. I know how it hurt me every time my parents tried to get it right, only to end up hurting each other over and over again. Without meaning to but still…every time I'd think, this is it. Finally, we'll be a family."

She wasn't sure why this was tumbling out on her first date with him, no less.

He touched her hand, nodding. "I know what it's like. I'm sorry. That's why I don't want to go back, to _pretend_ that everything is okay and watch my parents try and remain civil with each other. Plus, we don't do holidays well. As a general rule."

"You went home for Thanksgiving."

"Cole was there," he reminded her and then turned, smiling charmingly. "You were there."

She flushed and dropped her gaze to his lips for a mere second before lifting her head to meet his eyes. "I'll be there during Christmas too. Stars Hollow is the place to be, after all, in the snow. I buy the best gifts. And there'll be an empty seat next to mine at the table Christmas Eve…"

Tristan stepped closer, twining his fingers with hers. "Is that an invitation, Gilmore?"

Her breathing hitched a little and one corner of her mouth lifted in a smile. "That's a promise."

Grinning, he lowered his head, softly brushing his lips against hers.

She sighed and leaned into him, giving him all the encouragement he needed to deepen the kiss. Bringing his arms around her waist, thinking about how perfectly she fit against him and mentally kicking himself for wasting so much time to make a move. This was what he wanted ever since he was sixteen.

Rory was berating herself for fighting this inevitability with everything that she had. Her hands slipping into his thick, soft hair. As Tristan tongue moved inside her mouth, making her tingly and hot, the reasons for her barricades were suddenly not so important. He was a good kisser; she knew that from their brief encounter at Madeline's party, almost three years ago. But there was Dean back then and Tristan had a reputation. _And now?_ A voice asked her, through the fog in her brain.

Now, things were very, very different.

They broke apart, gasping for breath, foreheads touching. He smirked a little, breathing still shallow. "You're not running away."

She chuckled, fingers playing with the hair at his nape. "I don't have anywhere to be just now."

His lips trailed over her forehead and cheek. "Good to know."

Then, because her nerves were still frayed from the kiss, she laughed. "If someone told me on my first day at Yale that I'd be kissing you before the end of the semester, I would have laughed in their faces."

Tristan frowned and pulled away. "Why? Is kissing me such a ludicrous idea?"

"No," she answered solemnly, although amused. "I just wasn't in a very good place at the beginning of the semester. You know, with Jess and all. And plus, it wasn't like we were exactly friends."

He tightened his grip on her, she snuggled against him. "And whose fault is that?"

Of course he'd blame it on her. "You weren't exactly the easiest person to deal with, DuGrey. You made it damn near impossible."

"That's because I didn't want to be your friend." He lifted a brow, wiggled it suggestively. "I wanted to be so much more. And I was right. You caved in, eventually."

She shook her head and laughed. "See? Impossible."

"Come on, Gilmore," he stated, kissing the corner of her mouth. She leaned into him, loved absorbing the warmth radiating from him as the winter breeze picked up slightly. "You know you want me."

She sighed, dizzy from the feel of his lips on her skin and decided to play along. She fluttered her lashes and swayed slightly in his arms, raising her voice to a falsetto. "Oh yes, Tristan. I _do_! _Take me_!"

"Yes ma'am," he responded and brought his mouth to hers again, for a long, lingering kiss just as it started to snow.


	19. Chapter 19: You crossed that line, you c...

**Title**: Girl Like That

**Authors**: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)

**Disclaimer**: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.

**Rating**: PG – 13

**Pairing**: Rory/Tristan, Cole/Vaughn

Chapter 19: You crossed that line, you can't come back

Rory knew there was a reason she shouldn't be doing this - this, being making out with a hot guy in the middle of the afternoon. Any minute now, the reason would pop into her head as to why it was a bad idea to be smushed together with a very aroused Tristan DuGrey on her bed. Just as soon as she could detract her tongue from his mouth and disentangle her limbs from his person. That would get rid of the heady fog in her brain and her synapses would work again and she wouldn't be distracted by the amazing things his hands were doing under her shirt.

And then, as his lips latched onto a rather sensitive spot behind her ear, the logical part of her brain shut down completely and all reasons flew out the proverbial window.

_Yes_, she thought with an appreciative moan, running her hands up his back to delve into his hair. _So good. _"Mm, Tristan…" she murmured when he nibbled her collarbone.

Tristan lifted his head and grinned, eyes clouded with lust. She stared at him; face flushed and wondered why he pulled away. "You're so funny."

So _not_ what she was expecting. Frowning, she squirmed a bit, the rational side of her returning full speed now that there was no lip contact. "Funny, huh?"

He missed the slight surprise in her voice and nodded. "Yes."

_Well, I'm glad I tickle your funny bone_, she thought maliciously but outwardly, remained calm as she sat up, straightening her T-shirt and her hair. She managed a tight smile over her shoulder as he lounged back. "That's sweet of you to say."

He laughed then, sitting up and curiously studying her face as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I've offended you."

Since it wasn't a question, she didn't feel the need to answer it. Instead, she lifted her abandoned text book from off the floor near the bed and opened it to a random page. "We really should get back to studying."

"I kinda liked what we were doing," he answered, lowering his voice as he pushed her hair back and kissed the side of her neck, "much better."

"Why? Do you need a laugh?" She hadn't meant to sound so…snarky.

This time, he chuckled against her skin. "I did offend you. I didn't mean it that way."

Rory looked at him sideways. "There aren't many interpretations to 'you're so funny', Shakespeare."

"Yeah but I meant it in a good way."

"Uh okay," she replied, unconvinced. "You obviously don't know women as well as you think you do, buddy. It's a good thing you're hot." Damn it, she hadn't meant to say that. Obviously, her brain wasn't fully functioning yet.

A Cheshire grin spread across his face. "Excuse me? Did you just say I was hot?"

"What?" she replied innocently, returning her gaze to the text in front of her. "You're hallucinating."

"Admit it, Gilmore. You think I'm sexy."

"Delusional. The word you're looking for is delusional." He laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist again and nuzzling her neck. "Tristan, stop, we have to study."

"Education is overrated," he murmured and placed searing, open-mouthed kisses against her skin. "And you're letting my hotness go to waste."

She giggled and pushed him off. "Your ego needs its own zip code, you know that? Now, I'm serious. Finals are in a week." He relented and let her go, grabbing a text book off of her headboard. They settled on the bed, side by side and tried to concentrate on the words in front of them. After ten minutes of studying (or reading the same paragraph three times) Rory was the first one to break. "Are you going home this weekend?"

Tristan looked up from balancing his pencil on his finger. "No. Why?"

"I'm going to Boston," she informed him. "Dad's been asking when and Sherri is driving me nuts with email and text messages…so I thought I'd drop by the weekend. Visit them, Harvard, Paris-"

"Jess," Tristan added, glancing at her profile. He wasn't sure why he said that and why he sounded so…weird about it.

She nodded slowly. "Yes, he's there too. And I think there's something going on between him and Paris."

Okay, so she was over it. No need to push the Jess issue. This wasn't even an issue anymore by the sound of it. "Doesn't seem her type."

It was Rory's turn to laugh. "How would you know?"

He shrugged, grinning slightly. "I don't. Just a feeling."

"Well, you're not my type," Rory said sweetly. "But I'm dating you."

"Is that what we're doing? Dating?" he asked, surprised as he leaned in closer with a leering smile. "I thought we were just making out."

"Oh that's it!" she exclaimed, grabbed the pillow from behind her and launched it at him. Laughing, he ducked it easily and encircled her waist, pushing her back onto the bed, landing on top of her. She was giggling now, as he trapped her wrists with one hand and used the other to tickle her sides. Face flushed, she tried to wrench free. "Tristan, stop, I'm not ticklish."

"Then why are you laughing?" he asked, amused as he continued to attack her, running his fingers up and down her sides. She shrieked with laughter, writhing under him. "His voice lowered to a suggestive murmur. "Keep that up Gilmore and you won't be laughing anymore."

The laughter subsided as the look in his eyes went from amusement to something else entirely, something much more exciting. He lowered his mouth to hers and once again, their textbooks were forgotten as they both got lost in the kiss.

- & -

Vaughn attempted to balance four textbooks, two notebooks and a binder without dropping any of them as she unlocked the dorm door. She figured that all of this would be enough to distract her from her Montgomery problem. It shouldn't really take that much to distract her thoughts away from that annoying ass otherwise known as Cole Montgomery, but she wanted to make sure. She pushed the door open further with her knee and slipped inside. Everything was fine until the scene before her filled her eyes. Tristan. Rory. Doing stuff to each other.

"Jesus," she exclaimed, before dropping everything on the floor. Hopefully both sounds would be enough to make them stop.

The sound of the books thudding to the floor had Rory pushing Tristan off of her, making him land on the floor unceremoniously. If she hadn't been trying to hook her bra, she would have laughed at the picture of Tristan DuGrey, shirtless and on his ass, looking completely bewildered. But the horrified expression on her roommate's face was enough to block out all funny thoughts. Blushing furiously, she muttered, "Oh my…hi, Vaughn."

While Rory was unsuccessfully trying to look as if she hadn't just been felt up, Tristan was stewing in his own embarrassment. He usually didn't blush very easily but Vaughn walking in on them was very awkward, considering that he had made out with _her_ not too long ago. It was all just…too much. "Hey Vaughn."

Vaughn just wrinkled her nose at him in response. She wasn't feeling too generous towards the male species lately, and turned her attention onto her roommate. "I'm so disappointed it you, Gilmore. Finals are in a few days. Hit the books, not the sack."

Rory blushed again, shooting Tristan an evil glare when he chuckled at Vaughn's comment. Her roommate had been rather surly for the past few days. Ever since she and Cole had disappeared together and Rory suspected that they had fought…and it was major. "We were studying."

Tristan snickered as he slipped on his T-shirt. "Yeah. Anatomy."

"That is _so_ junior high, Tristan."

"You both are making me want to gag," Vaughn sighed and leaned against the wall. "Go fight or something."

"Jeez," Tristan stated as he stood up, straightening himself. He glanced at Rory and raised an eyebrow, "What's gotten into her?"

Rory sighed. "Easy. Your roommate. She's been like this ever since they left us that day."

Tristan ran a hand through his hair and glanced at Vaughn who was scowling fiercely. "Come to think of it, Cole's acting strange too. He's actually concentrating on his work. And he's stopped singing. It's kind of freaking me out."

"Maybe it's a sign of depression and upcoming suicide; you should go check that out." There that would solve two of her problems quite easily right there.

"Oh," Tristan said suddenly, a wicked grin on his lips. "I know what happened."

Rory looked at him surprised. "You do?"

"It's so obvious, Rory. After all, you were the one that started all the UST talk." Tristan leaned closer to Vaughn and perused her face. "He kissed you, didn't he?"

Technically…"No." She had to go and be the stupid one and kiss him.

"Felt you up?" he ventured, unconvinced. "Come on, Claymore. I know these things."

Rory came to stand next to him and stared at Vaughn. "Tristan might be on to something. You can tell us, Vaughn. If he didn't kiss you then why are the both of you so upset?"

"I'm not upset, I'm stressed over the finals you guys are preventing me from studying for," Vaughn wondered if that made sense. Nothing was really making sense to her anymore.

Tristan looked as if he wanted to cross-examine her and if that happened, Vaughn could easily suffer from a nervous breakdown. So Rory quickly stopped him. "Right. Exams. We all have to study for those pesky things. Tristan, you should go."

"But I -" His protest died on his lips as she shoved his textbooks and jacket in his arms. He tried again as she pushed him towards the door. "Ror, we need to -"

"No! I'll talk to you later," she answered before he could finish and then, slammed the door on his face.

Vaughn looked at the now closed door, and then down at her books. She should pick them up. She looked over at Rory, "I kissed Montgomery." Well, oops.

Rory squealed in glee. She just knew it was the other way around. As much as she enjoyed making out with Tristan, it was worth it to shove him out of the room so she could hear the juicy tidbits from Vaughn. "Ooh, tell me everything!"

"Um, it was a kiss. And I kicked him out." Simple enough explanation.

"Oh. Not good." She should've known that with Cole and Vaughn one step forward meant two steps back. It was frustrating. Rory sighed, reached into her desk drawer for a chocolate bar and handed it to Vaughn. "Tell me what happened."

- & -

Georgia Hayden stood up in excitement, extended her pudgy arms and took a step forward to grapple her sister. And promptly fell on her butt. Unaffected, she giggled at herself and puckered her lips for a kiss.

"Good thing you have a diaper," Rory stated as she crouched down to kiss the tip of Georgia's nose. "Extra protection."

The baby babbled in agreement and lifted her arms. "Up!"

Rory picked her up and then searched the living room of her father's apartment for her other shoe. The mess the two sisters had made would have to be cleaned before Sherri got home and had an anxiety attack. Christopher had to run an errand and Rory was watching her sister until her returned. Hopefully before Jess and Paris got there. She hoped to have some time with her friends while she was in Boston even with finals looming over her and the three of them had finally worked out their schedules and agreed to meet for dinner. Promptly, there was a knock on the door and Georgia, who loved company, squealed.

"Coming!" Rory yelled as she crossed the living room and stepped into the small foyer to open the door. Jess stood on the other side, looking a little uneasy. When Jess had left New Haven, she had gained a sense of closure but it was still awkward being around him now that he wasn't a big part of her life anymore. "Hey Jess! You're right on time. Come in."

Georgia reached out to him, undaunted by strangers, and latched onto his shoulder. This brought Rory several steps closer to him, so that the only thing between them was the one-year-old dangling in mid-air. The baby laughed and swung her legs.

Jess smiled crookedly. "Hey kid."

"Sorry," Rory said pulling her sister away. "She's very friendly. My dad should be home any minute and Paris isn't here yet so we'll have to wait anyway."

Jess closed the door behind him and followed the girls into the living room again. "Okay."

Rory put Georgia on the floor and she toddled away to play with her abandoned stuffed bunny. When she turned to Jess, he was standing neat the couch, avoiding her gaze. Sighing, she pulled at the sleeves of her sweater and tried to think of something to break the ice. "I finally finished _The Sun Also Rises_."

He arched an eyebrow. "And?"

"I'm sticking to my guns."

He shook his head. "You're cracked."

Before either of them could say anything else, Christopher came into the living room, Paris and Tristan following him inside. "Look who I found lurking outside our building."

Rory's eyes widened in surprise as her boyfriend grinned at her. "Tristan! What are you doing here?"

"It's nice to see you too, Gilmore," he said as he pulled her into a hug. It _was_ nice to hold her again, even with her ex-boyfriend staring at him oddly. "Yale just isn't the same without you."

"Oh gag me," Paris muttered as she rolled her eyes. Jess and Christopher chuckled.

Tristan shrugged and admitted, "That and Cole was driving me insane with woe-is-me shtick. He doesn't do 'being in love' very well."

"Figures," Rory returned and then glanced at Jess who was now talking in hushed tones. If she ever doubted that there was something going on between the two of them, she didn't now. Yeah, it was pretty weird. Turning to her father, who was gathering Georgia in his arms, she said, "Dad, we should get going. We kinda made a mess…"

"Go ahead honey. You kids have fun."

They bustled out of the door and Rory re-introduced Tristan and Jess while putting on her jacket. The two guys nodded in acknowledgement and she had the sudden feeling that it was going to be a very long night.


End file.
